Wounded Hearts: Mature Version
by MaureenT
Summary: After sharing a heated moment of passion, Daniel and Sam struggle to deal with the aftermath and the way it changes their relationship. Can two people scarred by so much tragedy overcome it all and have a happy life together? COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Wounded Hearts**

**Author:** MaureenT  
**Categories:** Angst, Romance, Drama  
**Content Warning:** Adult Themes, Mild Profanity, Sexual Content  
**Spoilers:** Anything up through the first 5 episodes of Season 10 is fair game.

**Author's Notes: **This story begins right after The Pegasus Project. **It contains a Daniel/Sam romance.**

* * *

***** IMPORTANT NOTICE ***  
Due to this archive's crackdown on sexual content in stories, I have changed all mature-rated scenes that may have been considered by the moderators to have an MA rating. The love scenes in this story have been replaced with the milder ones from the version of the story that had been rated Teen but now also has a Mature rating. I am keeping this version up because of the reviews attached to it. The real mature-rated version can still be found on my Web site at www .stargate-horizons. com (remove spaces). I welcome you to go there and read it, then come back here and review.**

CHAPTER ONE

It was ten p.m. when the knock came on the door of Daniel's guest quarters on the Ancient city of Atlantis. He let out a soft sigh. That was probably Vala coming for another attempt to cheer him up. She'd tried her best to make him feel better out on the balcony a few hours ago. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate what she was trying to do, he just couldn't feel positive and optimistic right now, not after what happened with Morgan, the Ancient he'd pushed into breaking the rules and who was probably now being punished for stepping over the line.

"Come in," he said wearily.

The head that poked around the door was not topped with long raven tresses, but, rather, a short mass of golden locks.

"Hey," Sam said a little uncertainly.

"Oh. Hi, Sam."

The lieutenant colonel stepped into the room. "You look surprised to see me."

"I thought you were someone else."

"Oh. If you're waiting for someone, I can come back another time."

"No, I wasn't waiting for anyone. I just. . . ." Daniel shook his head. "Never mind. Come on in."

Sam shut the door and approached the bed, where Daniel was sitting.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"Fine," Daniel replied.

Sam sat beside him on the bed. "Are you? I know how upset you must be about Morgan. I'm sorry that I didn't come talk to you about it sooner."

"It's all right. I didn't really expect you to."

Sam frowned. "Why not? We're friends, Daniel. It bothers me when you're hurting."

"I know, Sam. I just don't expect you to come hold my hand every time something happens." He forced a smile to his lips. "If you did that, you'd never have time for anything else. Besides, compared to . . . well, other things, this was barely a blip on the Daniel Jackson emotional trauma radar. I didn't die or even suffer an injury."

Sam listened to the flippancy and recognized that it was hiding a lot of pain.

"Daniel, how long have we known each other?" she asked.

"Um, going on ten years."

"So, we know each other pretty well, right?"

Daniel hesitated, suspecting what this was leading up to. "Yes."

"Then why are you trying to convince me that you're all right when I know that you're not?"

Daniel's gaze dropped from hers to focus on his hands.

"In fact, I know you well enough to know that you're probably feeling guilty over what happened," Sam continued. "You're thinking that you shouldn't have pushed her, that whatever is happening to her right now is your fault." Seeing the look on his face, she knew that she'd guessed right. "Well, it wasn't, Daniel. Morgan didn't have to say anything. You didn't force her to talk. She made a choice, decided to do what she believed was right."

Daniel got off the bed and walked away a few feet. "You know what really makes me mad? It _was_ the right thing for her to do. Most of the Ancients will sit back and let this whole galaxy go to hell and not lift a finger to stop it, but she tried to do something. It wasn't a lot, but at least it was something. And the others couldn't even allow her to do that." He shook his head. "This definitely proves one thing. It's pointless to hope that the Ancients might help us someday, even if, in the end, it means that they'll be destroyed along with the rest of us. They're just going to sit on their asses and let us fight alone as millions of people are killed or enslaved because of my stupidity and shortsightedness."

Sam quickly stood and went to her friend. "Daniel, don't say that. This thing with the Ori isn't your fault. None of us had any idea they existed. There were no clues, no warnings, nothing to tell us that they were out there. Not only that, we also didn't know that that communication device was going to do what it did. We had every reason to believe that it would just be like it was with General O'Neill and Joe Spencer."

Daniel shook his head. "None of that takes away from the fact that I'm the one who alerted the Ori to our existence. I should have left it alone. I should have known better than to go charging blindly into a situation that we knew nothing about. Yet again, I let my curiosity get the better of me, and the whole galaxy is paying the price."

Sam hated hearing Daniel talk like this, being so negative about himself.

"Daniel, human beings by their very nature are curious and have the desire to venture into the unknown," she told him. "In all these years that have passed since the Stargate was opened, how many times have we gone into an unknown situation just to see what's out there? Almost every time we step through the gate we're doing that. When you and the first team went to Abydos you were going into a very big unknown, and look at what ultimately came of that. The Goa'uld are all but gone, and countless billions of people are now free from enslavement to them."

"Yes, and, now, they're enslaved to something even worse or soon will be, that is except for the ones who are being wiped out of existence. And, unlike the situation with the Goa'uld, I can't think of anything that could possibly happen that would make up for all the horrible things that bringing the Ori to this galaxy has caused. Even if, by some miracle, we manage to stop them, there isn't going to be anything to balance the scales this time. Nothing will _ever_ make up for this."

Daniel turned away again, but not before Sam saw the pain and grief on his face.

"Daniel, please don't do this to yourself. You've always been the one person I could count on to keep fighting no matter what. No matter what horrible things you go through, you never give up."

Daniel's breath caught. "I'm just so tired, Sam," he whispered. "When is it going to end? When is life going to stop being one loss, one tragedy after another?"

Nearly crying, Sam stepped up to Daniel and wrapped her arms around him. He resisted at first, trying to remain strong and untouchable, but then his resistence suddenly crumbled. He pulled Sam close, his eyes closing tightly against his tears.

They stood like that in silence for a long while, Sam giving what comfort she could, and, in a strange way, also receiving it. She needed this, too. All of them had been trying to stay strong, in control, hiding their deepest pain even from the eyes of the people who knew them best. It shouldn't be like that, not between them. They'd all been through so much together.

"It's going to be all right, Daniel," Sam murmured. "We're going to get through this, _all_ of us. We just have to believe that."

Deep inside Daniel, a little voice was telling him that it was time to pull back, to reform the walls, but, for once in his life, he wasn't listening to it. It felt so good to be touched, to let himself accept love and comfort instead of keeping himself protected behind the barriers he'd constructed around his heart.

As Sam kept holding him, Daniel became aware of her in an entirely different way, the scent of her skin, the soft curves of her body, the way she fit against him. That, too, he longed for, the union of male and female that he'd denied himself for so many years.

Daniel failed to heed the warning signals as his body began desiring something far beyond an embrace, as his heart, so long denied the basic need for love and intimacy, took over control. Needing so desperately to feel something besides pain, anger and helplessness, he allowed one of his hands to slide downward, coming to rest at the place where the curve of Sam's buttocks began. His lips brushed the line of her jaw down to where her suddenly quickening pulse beat in her neck.

Sam gasped at the touch, a little shudder passing through her. All at once, she became very aware of Daniel as not just a friend and teammate, but as a man. As his embrace tightened, became something more than a hug of comfort, she knew that she should pull back and put an end to this before it went any further, but something inside her was taking over, a need to feel alive, to feel good, to push all the pain, loneliness and heartache away. So, instead of pushing him away, she drew him closer, her fingertips caressing the nape of his neck as her other hand descended to a spot low on his hip, tightening its grip.

Daniel's heart was now hammering in his chest, his respiration fast and shallow, Sam's touch awakening feelings he hadn't experienced in years – and it felt really good. Slowly, he lifted his head to stare into her eyes.

In the next second, all thinking and reasoning came to an end.

Daniel and Sam's lips came crashing together in a kiss of hunger and unbridled passion. Daniel crushed Sam's body against his, one hand tangling in her hair as he angled his head to deepen the kiss even more. Sam moaned into his mouth, her whole body suddenly feeling like it had caught fire.

A quick step brought her up against the wall, Daniel pressing her into it, their lips never breaking from the kiss. One of his hands slid down and curved over her bottom, pulling her hard against his hips, his need and desire running rampant in his mind and body. Sam moaned again and lifted a leg, wrapping it around his hips as she rubbed herself against him, her panting breaths mingling with his.

With an almost tortured groan, Daniel reached for the hem of Sam's top and began yanking it upward. With some help from her, it was soon on the floor. She then got to work on his T-shirt, which very quickly joined hers. Their lips locked in another kiss, Daniel pulled the straps of Sam's bra down, and she wrestled her arms out of them. In the next moment, the bra was around her waist, and their upper bodies were skin on skin, mouths mated in a kiss of unquenchable desire.

His lips not leaving hers, Daniel's hands flew down to the enclosure of Sam's pants. The button was undone and the zipper lowered. And then his hand was touching her.

"Oh, God," she gasped, feeling like she was going to come apart right then and there. With maddened haste, she attacked the front of Daniel's pants, getting the zipper undone. He let out a choked gasp at her touch, his last shred of reason incinerated by the heat that was raging inside him.

His level of desperation rising, Daniel pulled her legs up one at a time and tore off her boots and socks, then got her pants and underwear off.

As he did all this, Sam had finished unfastening Daniel's pants and pushed them and his boxers as far down his hips as she could. Gravity took them the rest of the way. Daniel was already barefoot, so the pants were quickly kicked off. Sam's bra was hastily removed from around her waist. And then they were again pressed together, mouths once more fused, the feeling of their naked bodies making the fire within them go from red-hot to white-hot.

Daniel's hands slid down the soft expanse of Sam's thighs. He took hold of them and pulled her upwards. She immediately encircled his waist with her legs. Daniel's mouth came back down on hers in a hot, demanding kiss, their hands touching and grasping with ever-increasing boldness.

Daniel abruptly pushed Sam farther up the wall, and, in the next instant, his lips had left hers and were on her breasts. Sam cried out and threw her head back, not even feeling its impact against the wall.

At last, Daniel lifted his head. Their eyes met for a brief, heart-stopping moment, then, with a quick movement, Daniel joined his body with Sam's, his low cry echoed by hers.

Daniel wasted no time in beginning to move, the feelings completely overpowering him. He was not the only one who was overwhelmed. Just the sensation what was happening sending Sam flying upward on the journey toward completion.

Daniel was completely out of control, hurtling full-speed toward release. Sam was right there with him, answering every move of his with one of her own.

Without warning, Daniel abruptly pulled away from the wall. He carried Sam to the bed and lay down on top of her. Their movements became almost frenzied, neither of them wanting this moment to end, but both of them aching for release.

It was mere seconds later that Sam began shaking in Daniel's arms as her climax hit her so hard that she momentarily lost the power to breathe. In the next instant, Daniel's release slammed into him with stunning force, wrenching a cry from his lips. Lost in her own ecstasy, Sam was barely aware of his climax.

By the time their climaxes ended, both Daniel and Sam were weak and trembling, gasping lungs struggling to bring in desperately-needed oxygen.

As soon as he had the strength to do so, Daniel rolled onto his side. He pulled Sam to him, holding her close as he basked in the sweet, glorious afterglow.

As their bodies began to calm, sleepiness quickly descended over both of them, Morpheus wrapping them in his irresistible embrace before they could put up a struggle.

* * *

As consciousness returned to Daniel's mind, he immediately became aware of the warm, naked body pressed solidly against him. For a brief moment, his sleep-hazed mind couldn't recall what had happened. Then, all at once, it all came flooding back in. Oh, God. What had they done? He opened his eyes and looked at the woman in his arms, his mind going a million miles an hour. He and Sam had just had sex, wild, intense, utterly mind-blowing sex. He couldn't deny that it had been incredible, just about the best sex he'd ever had in his life, but what the hell had he been thinking? That was the problem; he _hadn't_ been thinking. He'd let his emotions get out of control, and this was the result.

So, what now? What were they going to do about this? They'd just stepped way, _way_ over the line of what teammates and friends were supposed to do with each other. This could be a disaster.

Thoughts of the possible ramifications and what they were going to do about this situation faded as Daniel watched Sam sleep. She looked beautiful lying there, so peaceful. It felt so good to have a woman in his arms, to feel this intimacy that he hadn't experienced in such a long, long time. He didn't want it to end. All it would take was a kiss on her lips and Sam would awaken. Then they could make love again, more slowly this time. He could—

The little voice inside Daniel started screaming, "Danger! Danger!" halting his thoughts. What the hell was he doing? Was he crazy? This was a stupid mistake, remember? There wasn't going to be a second time, not now, not ever.

With that thought firmly in mind, Daniel put a little distance between them, ignoring the part of him that wanted to keep holding her close. The movement awoke Sam. He watched her stir, her eyes opening sleepily. She looked at him a bit hazily for a moment, then her eyes flew open wide.

"Oh my God," she gasped.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I thought when I woke up," Daniel told her dryly.

"Oh, God, Daniel. I can't believe we did that! What the hell were we thinking?"

"I don't know about you, Sam, but there wasn't much in the way of thought processes going on in my brain."

Sam groaned and covered her face. "What do we do now?"

"You get dressed and leave, and we both try to forget this ever happened."

Sam dropped her hands and nodded. "Yes, you're right. That's exactly what we need to do."

She got up, feeling very self-conscious about her nakedness. Daniel turned away, partly because he was still a gentleman at heart and partly because the sight of Sam's naked form was reigniting his desire. He grabbed the end of the bedspread and covered himself – for more than just the sake of modesty.

Once Sam was dressed, she turned to look at him, having a hard time meeting his eyes.

"I, um. . . ." Changing her mind about what she was going to say, she straightened her posture. "We're scheduled to leave at 0730. Colonel Emerson wants to get an early start."

Daniel nodded shortly. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Right."

Sam headed for the door. She paused as she reached it, her mouth opening to say something. Then, once again, she changed her mind and, without a word, opened the door and left.

For the longest time, Daniel stared at the closed door. This was the right thing to do. What happened had been just a wild moment of passion shared between two lonely people who'd suffered through too much pain and heartache. Even if they both wanted it to, it could never become more than that. And they didn't want it to be more than that, _he_ didn't want it to be more than that, regardless of what his libido might be saying to the contrary. A relationship with Sam? Never in all the years he'd known her had he entertained such a thought. Yes, she was a brilliant, beautiful, compassionate woman whom any man would be lucky to have, but they were just friends and teammates. That's it.

No, these nagging feelings were just a result of what happened and because finally making love with a woman after all these years had made him realize how much he missed it.

Tomorrow, he would get his libido shoved back into the deep, dark hole he usually kept it in, and he'd be fine. As for this other emotion, the part of him that wished Sam had stayed so that he could just hold her the rest of the night, that he would bury even deeper, for it was a whole lot more dangerous than simple sexual desire. It was coming way too close to feelings that he could never let himself have again.

Daniel retrieved his boxers and put them on, gathering the rest of his clothing off the floor and tossing them on a chair. He then got under the covers, turned off the light and closed his eyes, ignoring the part of him deep inside that was crying.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Breakfast was tense and uncomfortable, at least for two people sitting at the table. As Cam and Vala talked, Sam and Daniel stared at their food, occasionally taking a bite. They dared not look at each other for fear that the others would see the expression on their faces and know that something was going on.

"You two are awfully quiet this morning," Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell observed.

"Didn't get much sleep," Daniel quickly replied.

"Me neither," Sam said.

Cam took a bite of his eggs. "Really? I slept like a log. I guess it's the fresh sea air. Too bad we can't stay here for a few days. I wonder if anyone's ever tried waterskiing behind a puddle jumper. Or we could all find a beach and do some swimming and sunbathing."

Vala smiled at the second idea. "Ooh, now that sounds intriguing. Since none of us brought any bathing suits, we'd all just have to do without." Her smile became very suggestive.

The implication of nudity made Daniel and Sam glance at each other, then quickly away.

They were both relieved when the meal was over. A short while later, everyone was onboard the Odyssey.

"Send our regards to General Landry," Elizabeth Weir's voice said through the speakers on the bridge.

"We'll do that," responded Colonel Emerson. He turned to Major Marks. "Let's take her home, Major."

"Yes, sir."

The ship lifted into the air. Minutes later, it left the planet's atmosphere and jumped into hyperspace.

Cameron turned to his teammates. "The beginning of another eighteen days stuck on this ship. I'm heading off to the gym. How about you, Jackson?"

"Um . . . yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes."

Cam looked at his fellow lieutenant colonel. "Sam?"

The thought of being in the gym at the same time as Daniel, seeing him working out, exercising muscles that she now had a great deal more intimate knowledge of, made Sam more nervous than a roomful of Priors would.

"Uh, no. I . . . have some other things I want to do. I'll see you guys later." She left the bridge and went to the room that had been acting as her lab. She headed straight to the computer and logged on, getting to work on a project that she'd been doing in her spare time.

Sam managed to devote all of ten minutes to the project before her mind started drifting to the one thing she didn't want it to, the thing that had plagued her since leaving Daniel's room, making it impossible for her to get more than a few scattered minutes of sleep the rest of the night.

"Dammit," Sam cursed softly. She got up from the desk and went over to a device on the worktable. She began fiddling with it, rearranging wires, adjusting the position of a couple of circuit boards, all in an effort to get her mind off that other thing. But it was useless. She just couldn't stop thinking about it.

Ever since Sam finally gave up, once and for all, the thought of being with Jack someday, she'd been feeling progressively more lonely and dissatisfied with her life. The situation with the Ori, suffering so many losses and defeats with only a handful of victories in between, had made it even worse. The work that had always energized her, enabled her to get her mind off most of her troubles, was now overshadowed by the ever-growing threat of the Ori.

Once or twice, Sam had actually toyed with the idea of quitting the Air Force, of going off somewhere and teaching theoretical astrophysics to a bunch of bright college students, to finally have a personal life. But that would be the coward's way out. And could she really go off and have a normal life while carrying the knowledge that, at any moment, the Ori could decide to attack Earth? No. She couldn't quit and walk away from their battle to save the galaxy. To do so would be unthinkable.

The one thing Sam _hadn't_ done was consider getting back in the dating game. The last time she tried that had been a disaster. Every time love or the potential for love had come into her life it had been lost. Sam knew that, with Pete, it had been her own fault, but there had been those other times when death had taken away someone she cared deeply for.

Sam had come to the conclusion that she was never going to have a lasting relationship with a man. She was afraid to even try again, to let someone into her life like that. Every single time she had in the past, it had ended badly. She just couldn't go through that again. There were just so many times that you could let yourself go through things like that, and she had reached her limit.

The truth was that, even before she met Pete, she'd become afraid of commitment, already having suffered too much heartache. Her break-up with him had been because of a lot more than just her unresolved feelings for Jack and the grief over the death of her father. It wasn't until weeks later than Sam had been honest enough with herself to admit these things. Even if her dad hadn't died, she would never have made it to the altar with Pete. One way or another, she'd have ended it. And if she hadn't, if she'd actually gone through with it out of sheer stubbornness and the need to have someone to come home to each night, it's unlikely that it would have lasted for long, which would have been even worse than what happened.

Against her will, Sam's thoughts returned to Daniel and what happened between them. She knew why she'd let it happen. She'd been desperate to drive away the loneliness and sorrow, to feel alive, if only for a few brief moments. But it should never have happened, not with Daniel. It had been stupid and foolish, even more so because of the fact that she couldn't get it out of her mind. Who'd have thought that Doctor Daniel Jackson would be such an incredible lover, that he would make love like . . . like _that_? It had been the single most powerful sexual experience of her life – and it could never happen again. Even if they weren't teammates, she could never take the chance of having a relationship with Daniel only to lose it all for one reason or another.

Besides, it's not like she actually wanted to have a relationship with him. It was Daniel, for crying out loud. Granted, he was a wonderful, passionate, brilliant and very handsome man, and she was sure that there were a whole lot of women who'd want him for a boyfriend, but he was just a friend to her. That's all. In fact, why had she even been thinking about a relationship with him? What happened last night was just . . . just . . . fantastic.

_'Dammit!'_ Sam yelled in her mind.

Striding back to her computer purposefully, Sam sat down, determined that she was going to drive these thought about Daniel out of her head.

* * *

Cameron Mitchell stared at the man working out across the room. Daniel was being especially . . . energetic with his workout today, pushing himself far more than he usually did. He was drenched in sweat, and his face was flushed, but he was still going at it and showing no signs of stopping any time soon. Boy, was he going to be sore tomorrow.

Finally, Cam decided that he should step in before the man hurt himself. He got off the bench and walked up to Daniel.

"Aren't you pushing yourself kind of hard today? You're making me tired just watching you."

Daniel did not stop what he was doing, which was a set of lat pulls-downs with a whole lot more weight than he usually used. "I'm fine," he grunted.

"Really. Well, I don't want to be the one to have to tell General Landry that you died of a coronary on the trip home, so how about if you give it a rest for a while?"

Daniel paused, then released the bar with a sigh. He reached for his towel and wiped his face, realizing all of a sudden that he was quite tired and that both his pulse and respiration were way higher than he should have let them get.

Cameron sat on the bench next to the machine Daniel had been using. "So, you wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Nothing's going on," Daniel responded shortly.

"Uh huh. Try selling me a different brand of snake oil, Jackson, because I'm not buyin' that one. Is this about the stuff with Morgan Le Fay? You really shouldn't let it get to you. She made her choice. Frankly, I'm happy to know that there are at least a few Ascended out there who give a damn about what happens to us."

"Yes, and look at what happens to all of them. Oma, Orlin and, now, Morgan."

Cameron looked at him more closely. "And you."

"That's different."

"Not by my way of thinking."

Daniel got to his feet and walked over to the water cooler, pouring himself some.

"But this is about more than just Morgan, isn't it," Cameron guessed as he rose to his feet and approached the man.

Daniel tossed the paper cup in the trash. "I really don't feel like talking about it, Mitchell."

He left the gym and headed to the lockers, Cameron right on his heels. He was able to get away from the man when he headed off to the showers, though the lieutenant colonel was in the next stall over. Daniel showered and got dressed quickly, hoping to make good his escape. Luck was not on his side, however. He'd barely made it twenty feet down the corridor when Cameron was trotting up to him.

"You know what I think?" Cam asked as they walked.

"No, but I'm sure you'll tell me," Daniel replied wearily.

"I think you need a vacation, have some fun. You're so tightly wound these days that, sooner or later, you're going to snap if you don't release some of that tension."

"I don't have time for a vacation. We're fighting a war against an immensely powerful foe that's bent on galactic domination, in case you haven't noticed."

"Oh, I noticed, Jackson. Believe me. When we were hanging on the rim of that huge black hole that was trying its level best to gobble us up, I was extremely aware of why we were there. But I really think the galaxy can survive you taking a few days off. It'll do you some good."

Daniel thought about Cameron's suggestion. Maybe a vacation _would_ be a good thing, to get away from everyone and everything for a while. But would he be able to relax? Probably not. He would just keep on thinking about the Ori. Actually, what would likely prey on his mind the most was something that had nothing to do with the Ori, the thing that was the real reason why he'd driven himself so hard in the gym. On second thought, a vacation would be a very bad idea. He needed to work, to keep his mind as busy as possible.

"I'm sure the general would let you take some leave, if you want some," he said.

Cam looked at him. "We weren't talking about me. I'm not the one with stress issues. I'm assuming your response means that you're nixing the vacation idea."

"Yep."

Cameron shook his head. "I am seeing an early grave in your future."

"Well, considering how many times I've already died, that really isn't saying much."

Cameron studied Daniel's profile, seeing the tension in the line of the man's jaw. "You know what you _really_ need, Jackson, is to find a woman and get some lovin'."

Daniel stopped so abruptly that Cameron almost tripped over his own feet in his effort to keep from passing the archeologist. For a brief instant, he saw something flash across Daniel's face that had all kinds of questions filling the pilot's head. Then a mask dropped over the archeologist's features with such absoluteness that it was as if his face had been turned to stone. He began walking again, striding past Cameron without a glance. Cam stood in place for a brief moment before hurrying to catch up. Okay, he had definitely hit on something with that remark. Was that panic he'd seen in Jackson's eyes? Maybe, but there had been something else there as well.

Cam thought about it in silence as they covered the rest of the distance to the room that had been set up to serve as Daniel's office. As they entered the room, the pilot suddenly figured out what Daniel's reaction might mean.

"You got lucky, didn't you!" he blurted out. He watched as Daniel's body went as tense as a bow string. "Who was it? One of the scientists on Atlantis? Well, that would definitely explain your mood. You finally get yourself a girl, then have to leave her behind in another galaxy."

Daniel's tension level was rising by leaps and bounds. He had yet to look at Cameron, his back remaining resolutely turned to the man. He didn't dare look at Mitchell for fear that the pilot would figure everything out. Why couldn't the guy just leave, dammit?

But Cam didn't leave. Instead, he said, "So, come on. Who was it? I'm dying to know who you picked after all these years. Was it that pretty blonde I noticed giving you the eye at dinner last night?"

Daniel's control quite suddenly snapped. He rounded on Cameron and took two quick, angry steps forward, the look in his eyes actually scaring the pilot.

"Back off," Daniel bit out in a low, dangerous voice.

Recognizing that he'd pushed the archeologist way too far, Cam lifted his hands and took a step backwards.

"Okay, okay. Backing off. I'm sorry I pushed." He went to the door, turning just before stepping through. "But if you ever do want to talk about it, Jackson, I can be a pretty good listener."

Once the door closed behind Mitchell, the tension inside Daniel released with almost painful suddenness. He lowered himself onto a chair, propped his elbows on the desk and dropped his head into his hands. Damn. He needed to get control of himself. Where was the guy who could come face to face with a Goa'uld and remain utterly cool and calm on the outside? Why couldn't he put what happened with Sam behind him and go back to the way things were before? Why, why, why couldn't he stop thinking about the feeling of her naked body against his, their bodies joined together, the ecstasy of climaxing with her? Probably because it had been too damn long since he'd had that with a woman. But this wasn't just any woman, this was Sam, his friend and teammate, and what went on between them most definitely should not have happened.

There was no doubt about why it did. He'd let his despair take hold, and when Sam held him, his walls came crashing down. In that moment, he'd so desperately needed to feel life rather than death, joy instead of sorrow, pleasure instead of pain. Perhaps even more than that, he'd needed something to dispel the loneliness, to fill the void that had been in his heart since the day Sha're died.

Yes, he was lonely. He liked to believe that he wasn't, that he was just fine being alone, but he was just lying to himself. He longed for love and intimacy as much as any man. But to open his heart to those things meant that he'd take the chance of suffering pain and loss yet again, and that was something he didn't think he could do. It hurt too much to let someone into his heart only to lose them.

The question now was what was he going to do? Trying to ignore what happened wasn't working. It was affecting not only his work but also everything else. He knew that he and Sam should talk about the whole thing, but that was one conversation he really wanted to avoid.

Maybe he just hadn't given it enough time. They'd be home in two and a half weeks. By that time, he was sure that everything would be fine.

Certain of his belief, Daniel turned to his computer and got to work.

* * *

Sam glanced over at Daniel where he sat on the other side of the table, his gaze on the dinner before him. It had been a week since the night they had their "encounter", and things still weren't back to normal between them. They avoided situations where they were in close contact, and they hadn't been alone in a room together since it happened. Sam knew that they couldn't keep doing this. It was a miracle that neither Cameron nor Vala had noticed yet. That was probably because, when they were together in the company of other people, she and Daniel were doing a good job of pretending that nothing was wrong. But something _was_ wrong, and Sam knew that she wasn't the only one who was still being affected by what happened. Just yesterday, she and Daniel accidentally bumped into each other in the corridor. He had instinctively grasped her arm to steady her. The touch had lasted all of two seconds before he jerked his hand away as if he'd been burned. They'd given each other hasty apologies, then continued their separate ways.

Sam hated not feeling comfortable around Daniel. He was the one person she'd always felt at ease with, the person she could always be herself with. He'd always seemed to understand her so well, the person who, right from the start, looked past the uniform to the human being underneath.

Now, all that was gone because of a single moment of passion, a moment that she still couldn't forget about, couldn't put in the past. And what made it all the worse was that a big part of her wanted it to happen again. She wanted to feel his large hands on her, to taste his mouth, to feel his body united with hers. What happened between them had forever changed her perception of him. He could no longer be just Daniel, her close friend and teammate. Now, he was the man whom she'd shared the most incredibly passionate lovemaking of her life with. How could she ever forget that? She'd been crazy to think that she could.

Why oh why did it have to be Daniel? Why couldn't this have happened with some guy she met who had nothing to do with the program? It would have been a lot easier to handle. And maybe if it had been some guy she'd recently met, she wouldn't also be feeling this other longing, the desire to just be held by Daniel, to sleep in his arms and awaken with a warm human body beside her rather than an empty bed.

Sam looked at Daniel again and happened to catch him looking at her. Their eyes met for several seconds, and she could tell that he was as unhappy about the situation between them as she was. There was regret in his eyes and what looked like sadness.

In that moment, Sam knew that they had to talk. They had to clear the air between them if there was to be any hope of salvaging their friendship.

* * *

Daniel walked slowly down the corridor, hands buried in his pockets, eyes on the floor. His destination was not one that he was eager to reach, but one that he had to go to. Tonight at dinner, he'd decided that he and Sam had to talk. Things could not keep going on between them like it had been. Except when in the company of someone else, they barely spoke to each other, they went out of their way to avoid being alone together, and they never ever touched, except by accident. Not that he was ever a tactile person, but he'd never before felt uncomfortable about touching someone who was a friend.

Daniel missed the easy comradery he'd always shared with Sam, the chats about this or that, the occasional brainstorming sessions. True, those last two things hadn't happened very often these past few months, but at least the door had still been open to them. Now, it felt like there was a barrier between them. Actually, it was an elephant, a great big elephant in the room that he created because of a moment of weakness.

Daniel had lost count of how many times he'd cursed himself for his actions. If every time he'd mentally kick himself had left a mark, he'd now be one great big bruise. And the real kicker, the thing that made the whole situation ten times worse, was that the very male part of him wanted it to happen again. He wanted to experience that passion and ecstasy again. That in itself wasn't strange. After all, after going so many years without sex, it was understandable that, now that he'd finally gotten some, he'd really want to do it again. No, the problem was that he didn't want to do it with just anyone, he wanted to do it with Sam.

Daniel was no fool. He knew that all he'd have to do was give her an opening, and Vala would be quite happy to satisfy his sexual needs. Hell, he'd nearly had to beat her off with a stick more than once during that time they were bonded because of those Goa'uld bracelets. But Vala wasn't the one he wanted. She wasn't the one he'd been having erotic dreams about. She wasn't the woman his body ached for.

If someone had told him two weeks ago that there would come a day when he'd be fantasizing about having wild sex with Samantha Carter, he'd have had them committed to the same rubber room that he spent those unforgettable days in when he was infected with that Goa'uld-killing, schizophrenia-inducing little slug of Machello's. But that was before he'd experienced what it was like being with her like that, how incredibly good it had felt to have her in his arms, to kiss her, to be encased in her heat as they soared together to completion. Never before had he experienced an act of lovemaking that was so unrestrained, so wildly passionate.

And then there were the other feelings, the ones that, in a big way, were even worse. It wasn't only sex that he desired. He wanted to hold Sam in his arms and watch her sleep, to wake up in the morning and have a pair of eyes looking back at him. He wanted the simple pleasure of having a woman to hold, and kiss, and just be with. Making love with Sam and waking up with her in his arms had fully awakened that ache inside him, and nothing he did was making it go away.

Daniel finally reached his destination. He stood before the door and took a couple of deep breaths. He was just raising his fist to knock when the door suddenly opened.

"Oh!" Sam exclaimed, taking a startled step backwards. "Daniel!"

"Um . . . hi," the archeologist said, nervousness hitting him full force.

"Hi. I, uh, was just coming to talk to you."

"You were?"

"Yes." Sam met his eyes. "I think we need to talk."

Daniel sighed. "Yeah, we do."

"Well, um, come on in." Sam stepped aside to let him enter.

He came in and looked around, seeing that her room was pretty much a carbon copy of his. He wondered if the U.S. government bought bedroom furnishings and decorations in bulk. Even the bedspread was the same.

Oops. Shouldn't be looking at the bed. Very bad idea.

Daniel turned to face Sam, who looked as nervous as he felt. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

Sam blinked in surprise. "What?"

"I'm sorry about what I did. I'm sorry that I was weak, and stupid, and lost control like that."

"What _you_ did? Daniel, there were two people participating in what happened. Do you honestly think that I couldn't have stopped you if I'd wanted to?"

"No, of course not. You could have laid me out on the floor, if you'd needed to. But I was the one who started it. I was the one who initiated the whole thing."

"Okay, so you made the first move, but it was up to _me_ to stop it from going any further." Sam stepped toward him. "Look, Daniel. I think we both know why it happened. Things have been really hard for all of us ever since the problem with the Ori began. We've suffered so much in this war, seen too much death, had too many losses and not enough victories. On top of that are the previous years fighting the Goa'uld, all the losses and tragedies we suffered in that war. And, during most of that time, neither of us have had a personal life to speak of. I know how lonely _I've_ been. I can't even imagine how lonely _you_ must be. That night, we just . . . lost ourselves in the need to feel something good and stop the loneliness."

Daniel knew that she was right. He'd had very similar thoughts. But then why was it that he wanted to make love to her again? Why, even now, did he want to take her into his arms and kiss her?

"We need to get past this, Daniel," Sam said. "I hate how things have been between us."

"I know. I hate it, too. It's just that. . . ."

"What?"

Daniel shook his head. "Nothing," he said, deciding it would be a very bad idea to tell her that he was still feeling desire for her. He knew, however, that he did have to be honest with her about one thing. "It's just that I can't pretend it didn't happen, Sam. I thought I could, but I can't. I don't think I can ever put things back in my mind to the way they were before. Maybe some people can have a . . . a one-night-stand with someone they know without it affecting how they look at that person, but I'm not one of them."

"Me neither," Sam admitted in a low voice. "I guess we'll just have to . . . to adapt. I know it'll never be exactly like it was before, but I don't want to lose your friendship, Daniel. It means too much to me."

"I don't either, Sam."

Daniel stepped forward, wanting to hug her. But, as his arms lifted, he froze, afraid that touching her would make him want her all the more. He wasn't ready yet to touch her just as a friend. Eventually, he would be, but not yet.

As Daniel's arms dropped, Sam felt a sharp stab of pain pierce through her. He couldn't even touch her. She turned away, trying to hide how much it hurt, but Daniel saw anyway and felt like a jerk.

"Sam, I'm so sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to. . . . I just. . . ." He sighed helplessly. How could he explain without revealing how he felt?

"It's okay," Sam told him in a voice that was pitched a bit too high to be believable. "I understand."

Looking at her stiff back, Daniel decided that Sam's feelings were a lot more important than his wish to hide his desire from her.

"No, I don't think you do," he said. "I didn't stop myself just then because I don't want to touch you, Sam. I stopped myself because I want to touch you too much."

Sam's breath drew inward sharply. Slowly, she turned to face him. "W-what?"

Daniel looked straight into her eyes. "I want you, Sam. I have wanted to make love to you again since the moment I woke up with you in my arms."

"Oh, God," Sam whispered.

"I know it can't happen again. I _know_ that. But it doesn't stop me from wanting it. I've . . ." he blushed slightly, "I've been having dreams about you."

Sam's respiration rate had doubled, along with her pulse. Her throat suddenly felt dry. The desire that she had been desperately fighting to keep a lid on was escaping. She felt flushed with heat, parts of her body already preparing for an act that would never happen. She wanted to grab Daniel, throw him down on the bed, rip his clothes off, and— Dammit, _no_! It can't happen again. It can't!

Daniel was no longer looking at her, his eyes focused on the floor. "I'm sorry. I guess, down deep inside, I really am just a guy." His mouth twisted into a parody of a smile, which quickly disappeared. "I'm . . . I'm going to go now. I'll see you tomorrow."

Sam watched him leave, frozen in place. As the door shut behind him, she abruptly felt weak. She went to the bed and sat on it heavily. That's when she realized that she was trembling.

What was she going to do? How was she going to get past this overwhelming desire for Daniel? Why did she feel this way? That first time with him had just been a reaction to all the stuff they'd been through, so why the hell did she still want him?

Daniel had admitted that he'd been having dreams about her. She'd been having those kinds of dreams as well, dreams that had her waking up aching for him, wishing he was beside her. And now that she knew he wanted her, too. . . .

Sam sprung to her feet and went to her closet, pulling out her gym clothes. She needed to be doing something, something physical. Maybe if she exercised herself into exhaustion, it would be enough to drive this demon out of her . . . at least for a while.

* * *

Cameron sat on the bench, staring at the person working out across the room. Normally, he didn't like working out at night, but he'd felt a bit restless and decided that a short workout might help burn off the excess energy. The last thing he'd expected to see was yet another person working their way toward a coronary. The fact that the person was Sam made it all the more shocking. She was in just about the same state Jackson had been in last week, red-faced, drenched in sweat . . . and showing no sign of stopping any time soon.

And so, for the second time, Cameron decided that it was his duty to rescue a teammate from killing themselves. He got up and walked over to Sam.

"Aren't you overdoing it a bit, Sam?"

"I'm fine," she ground out, huffing out a breath with the effort it was taking to lift the stack of weights she had on the machine.

_'I'm getting a real sense of deja vu here,'_ Cam thought to himself. "Okay, so what's wrong with _you_?" he asked.

"Why do you think something's wrong?" Sam snapped. "I'm just working out."

"Sam, I've seen you working out before, and you've presently got three times the weight there that you normally use. You also look like you're about ready to keel over."

Sam stopped abruptly, realizing, all of a sudden, that she was exhausted. She wiped her face and neck with her towel, noting how much she was sweating.

"Okay, I guess I was pushing myself a bit too hard," she admitted.

Cameron sat down. "Care to tell me why?"

Sam shook her head. "Something's just . . . bugging me, and I let it really get to me. It's nothing."

Frowning, Cameron watched her get up and head over for a drink of water, her back stiff and tense, just like Daniel's had been.

A thought suddenly hit Cam's mind like a pile driver. No. It couldn't be. No way.

"This . . . couldn't have anything to do with Jackson, could it?" he asked.

Sam choked on the water she'd been drinking. She coughed and gasped for several seconds before managing to say in a slightly panicked voice, "No! W-why would you think it has something to do with Daniel?" Not looking at Cameron, she shook her head. "I'm going to go take my shower and go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."

As Sam left, Cameron just sat, unmoving, his mouth hanging open. Holy cow! Sam and Daniel? Boy, he hadn't seen _that_ one coming. Just the thought of the two of them having sex blew his mind. Not that they wouldn't make a good couple. They were enough alike to have a strong foundation for a relationship, yet different enough to keep it from being too predictable. Even so, he'd never seen any clue, any hint that those kinds of feelings existed between them. Obviously, this was a new development. Also obvious was the fact that all was not going well.

Should he step in? He didn't want to see the team dynamic ruined because two of his teammates were doing the horizontal mambo. And what about the regs? Okay, so, technically, it wasn't against regulations because Jackson was a civilian, and Sam wasn't the official team leader, but that didn't mean that Landry and other higher-ups would be okay with it. Cam didn't want to lose either of them from the team. He needed both of them. _SG-1_ needed both of them.

Maybe it was just a fling, a brief affair that would burn itself out quickly. Then everything would go back to the way it was before, and it would all be great.

Hoping that's all it was, Cameron got to his feet and headed off to the showers.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

With a deep sigh, Daniel entered his quarters. He'd worked later than he should have. Of course, compared to the hours he often put in at the SGC, this was nothing, yet he still felt tired. But this tiredness was not really because of the work; it was the weariness of someone whose heart was breaking. Of the days that had passed since he and Sam made love, today had been the worst yet. He'd seen her several times during the day, and she hadn't been able to look him in the eyes for more than a second. They hadn't spoken more than half a dozen words to each other.

His friendship with Sam was disintegrating, and Daniel felt helpless to stop it. He shouldn't have admitted to his feelings of desire for her. It was a mistake. Now, she was so uncomfortable around him that she couldn't even be in his company when Mitchell and Vala were present. She'd skipped breakfast entirely and had both lunch and dinner in her lab. He knew about the two latter meals because Mitchell mentioned it to him.

Speaking of the pilot, Daniel was beginning to wonder how much Mitchell had figured out. He'd caught the man looking at him strangely several times.

So what was he going to do? How was he going to fix this?

Daniel took a shower, doing not much more than standing under the spray, head bowed, trying to soak in what little physical comfort the hot water gave him. After drying off, he slipped on a pair of sweat pants and an athletic T-shirt, then walked to the bed. He sat down, back against the headboard, and picked up his personal journal and a pen.

_"I don't know what to do,"_ he wrote. _"I'm losing Sam's friendship. Maybe I've already lost it. Last night, I admitted to her that I still wanted her, and, now, she can no longer even look me in the eyes. God, what have I done? I wish I could go back in time and undo that night on Atlantis, make it so that it never happened. _

_"And you know what's even worse? I still want her. I want to wrap her in my arms and kiss her, make love to her over and over again. I want to see pleasure on her face and know I'm the one who put it there. I want to go to sleep in her arms and wake up still there in the morning. I can't stop thinking about her like that. The dreams I've had about her are about as x-rated as they come, and the ones that don't wake me up always end the same, with Sam lying naked in my arms, smiling at me. _

_"But even wanting her like this, what I want more is to have Sam's friendship back. I miss it. I miss her. They say that you don't really know what you've got until it's gone. Before all this happened, I'd sort of taken Sam's friendship for granted. Now that I'm afraid it's gone, I realize how much it really means to me. I don't know what I'm going to do if I can't get it back." _

Daniel closed the journal and laid it on the night stand, placing his glasses beside it. He closed his eyes tightly against the burn of tears. How many more things was he going to destroy?

A knock on his door made Daniel open his eyes with a frown. He looked at the clock. Midnight. Who would be coming to see him at this hour? Maybe there was a problem.

Daniel rose and went to the door. His breath caught sharply when he saw who it was. Sam stood before him, hair damp, dressed almost the same as him, except that her athletic tee was black and was partly hidden underneath a BDU shirt. Despite the shirt, Daniel could tell that she wasn't wearing a bra.

Before that fact could have an impact on him, Sam was pushing him inside and shutting the door. And then she was pulling his lips down to hers in a hard kiss. His mind utterly stunned by the action, his body took over and yanked her against him. With a low groan, he plunged his tongue deep into her mouth, his hands already moving across her body.

Before his brain had time to kick back in gear, Sam was walking him backwards toward the bed. They fell upon it, Sam stretched out fully on top of him. She parted her thighs and rocked her hips against his.

Daniel ripped his mouth from hers with a gasp. "Oh, God, Sam. What—"

"I want you, too, Daniel," Sam told him, her voice husky and deep, her eyes burning with desire. "And I don't care if we shouldn't do it again."

Knowing that not only had he not lost her friendship, but that she also wanted him like he wanted her, all of the reasons why this was a really, really bad idea went flying right out of Daniel's head. He bracketed her face with his hands and pulled her lips back down to his. After several seconds, Sam began struggling to get his T-shirt off. He lifted up slightly to aid in its removal. Then he grasped both her shirt and T-shirt and whipped them up over her head to go flying through the air. Her naked breasts came down upon his chest, setting him afire. As their tongues tangled in a frenzied dance, he slid his hands underneath her sweat pants to the round globes of her bottom. He went still when he discovered that she wasn't wearing any underwear. His hands tightened convulsively, making Sam moan. She grasped the waistband of his sweat pants and made the delightful discovery that, he, too, was "going commando".

Daniel lifted his hips, allowing her to remove the clothing. Then he shoved her pants down, and she kicked them off, her slip-on shoes falling off in the process.

Sam was ready for Daniel now, but he had other ideas. He began placing hot, wet kissing down the length of her neck, one of his hands reaching between them to one of her breasts, making Sam moan with pleasure. She found one of his nipples and started doing the same, her other hand touching him intimately. With a groan, Daniel pulled Sam up and brought his lips to her breasts.

At last, unable to wait a moment longer, Daniel sealed his lips over Sam's and mated his body with hers. Their outcries were drowned in each other's mouths. There was no slow and easy start, the power and rapture of their lovemaking sending them hurtling out of control.

All too soon, Daniel felt his release rushing upon him, the ecstasy too overpowering, too consuming to hold at bay. He was right on the edge when Sam's whole body went stiff as she let out a soft, keening cry. Her climax sent him flying into the stratosphere.

As Daniel's climax ended, his eyes opened and met Sam's, so luminously blue that they didn't even look real. They took her breath away. And then he pulled her down and robbed her of breath with a scorching kiss. He rolled them back over, coming to rest upon her. He wanted to make love to her again already, but certain inescapable facts about the male anatomy made that impossible, especially for a man his age. But he had every intention of making love to her again before this night was over. In fact, he had plans to make love to her every single night throughout the rest of the trip home and afterwards.

Daniel didn't let the reality intrude upon his mind that this thing with Sam was in danger of becoming so much more than two people bringing each other pleasure and joy amidst the horrors in their lives, filling the void of loneliness within them. He had locked up his heart and thrown away the key. He could not let himself love again, for love inevitably led to loss and pain.

Sam hummed blissfully as Daniel covered her face with slow kisses. At last, he rolled them over onto their sides, keeping Sam's body close to his. He reached behind him and managed to pull the bedspread over their forms, tucking it in around Sam like a cocoon.

Their bodies fully enmeshed, the lovers closed their eyes and drifted away into sleep.

* * *

Sam's eyes fluttered open to the sight of Daniel's face just inches from hers. Surprisingly, they were in virtually the same position that they'd fallen asleep in.

Lifting her head, Sam peered over Daniel's shoulder to the clock. The readout told her that it was 2:30. She really should go back to her own quarters. There was no way that she could stay here all night. They had to keep this a secret, so letting someone see her coming out of Daniel's room in the morning was out of the question. As it was, she'd be taking a chance that some insomniac or a crew person coming off duty would spot her. Actually, she knew what the schedule was, so she could time her departure to avoid the latter, and it's not like she had far to walk. There was only one room between hers and Daniel's. It was a really good thing, though, that there weren't any cameras in this section of the ship, at least none that were normally turned on. And it was also a very good thing that the walls were made of heavy steel since, even though they'd both been relatively quiet, the sounds of their lovemaking would have gone right through walls of more flimsy construction.

The train of Sam's thoughts came to a screeching halt as it suddenly hit her what she'd been thinking. Throughout the years that she'd had feelings for Jack, though she'd occasionally fantasized about saying to hell with the regs and having a secret, illicit love affair with her C.O., a fantasy was all it had ever been. She'd never seriously considered it. Her career meant too much to her, not to mention the fact that she'd never have wanted to endanger Jack's career. Yet, here she was, thinking about how to assure that her affair with Daniel remained secret. True, unlike with Jack, this thing with Daniel was not against regulations, but she could still get into a lot of trouble if Landry found out that they'd been hiding it. The wisest thing to do would be for them to go to him as soon as they got back to Earth and let him know about the change in their relationship.

Wait a minute. Change in their relationship? Yes, okay, so, obviously, it was a change. If that first time had remained the only time, then there would have been no need to even think about any of this stuff. But, now that they'd made love again, everything was different. Sam wasn't stupid enough to believe that this second time would be their last. Her desire for Daniel wasn't one iota less now than it had been at fifteen minutes to midnight when – while in the midst of a shower that was _supposed_ to be cooling her down after an intensely erotic dream about him – she quite suddenly decided to surrender to her feelings. She wanted to make love with him again . . . and again, and again.

_'I'm addicted to having sex with Daniel. Never in a million years would I have imagined this happening.' _

So, exactly what was their relationship now? Best friends with benefits? That could work, couldn't it? No pressure, no commitment, no declarations, just two friends finding pleasure and solace in each other's arms, making the horrors they faced in their job disappear for a short while each day, helping to heal some of the wounds and drive away the loneliness. That's all it would have to be, all it _could_ be. It couldn't be more than that. She couldn't let it be.

"Hello there."

Daniel's sultry-toned voice pulled Sam out of her thoughts. He was smiling at her, his eyes bright and happy.

Sam returned the smile. "Hi."

Daniel's hand slowly slid down her back. "I have to say that this is a very nice position to wake up in." To add emphasis to his words, he moved his hips against hers. Sam moaned and tightened her grip on him, which made him groan and repeat his earlier movement.

Abandoning any thoughts of going back to her own quarters, Sam began moving with him. But then, all of a sudden, Daniel abruptly stopped.

"What—" Sam began to say. His finger over her mouth halted her. There was a look in his eyes that made her respiration and heart rate rise dramatically. To call it passionate was an understatement.

"There are so many ways to make love, Sam," he murmured. His voice dropped in pitch. "Tell me how you want to make love."

Instead of telling him, Sam showed him. Like their first two times, they made no attempt to start slowly, diving headlong into the wildly blazing heat of their passion.

This time, Daniel did not come with Sam when she reached completion. He held it off, wanting to feel her climax fully. As she floated in the rapturous afterglow, he began to move again, slowly this time, getting lost in the glorious feeling. Sam soon also became immersed in their first slow mating. Her body, still tingling from her previous climax, came alive with the sensations, and she started moving with him.

Gradually, their speed increasing. Sam was amazed to feel another climax coming on, having believed that she didn't have it in her for a second one. And then Daniel touched her in just the right place, and she was gone.

There could be no holding off Daniel's climax this time. It rushed upon him, consuming him, a low cry ripping from his throat as the ecstasy flooded through his whole body, setting his nerves on fire.

As their climaxes came to an end, Daniel and Sam lay shaking and gasping for air. After a few moments, Daniel weakly moved off her. He pulled the bedspread back up and gathered her close so that they were spooned together, touching from head to toe. His hands slowly stroked her as he placed light kisses across her neck and shoulders, his body gradually quieting.

"Wow," Sam breathed, which earned her a chuckle from her lover.

"I concur," he said.

Sam turned around in Daniel's arms and studied him. "I have to admit something."

"What's that?"

"You are really taking me by surprise."

He studied her curiously. "How so?"

"I'd never have guessed that you'd be this kind of lover. I'd have thought that you'd be, well. . . ."

"The slow, gentle, missionary position sort?" he inquired.

Sam blushed. "Sorry."

Daniel smiled. "It's okay. With Sha're, I did usually make love slowly, but I guess it's just been way too long since I had sex." His smile returned. "I have a whole lot of sexual energy stored up."

"Holy Hannah, do you ever!"

They both laughed. As the laughter ended, Daniel's eyes ran across Sam's face. He brushed some tendrils of hair from her cheek, noting how beautiful and happy she looked. Her body fit so perfectly against his, like two pieces in a living, breathing jigsaw puzzle, just as it had while they were making love. That's when he thought of something.

"Um . . . I know that women on SG teams are required to use birth control," he said, "and that there's no worry about STD's, but. . . ."

"Are you asking me if we should use protection?" Sam grinned. "You're a little late in asking, aren't you?"

Daniel returned the smile. "Sorry. I couldn't help myself."

Sam dropped her smile. "No, I don't think there's a need for us to use protection. As you said, pregnancy's not an issue, and we're both free of disease."

"Well, that's good because I don't have any condoms, and I'm certainly not going to ask for some from the infirmary."

Sam smiled again. "Can you imagine the look on the face of the person you asked?"

"Yeah. It would be all over the ship inside an hour."

"I bet." Sam's eyes dropped to Daniel's chest. She ran a fingertip across it. "I should go back to my quarters, before it gets too late," she said regretfully.

Daniel sighed. "Yes, I guess you should," he agreed, though he didn't want to. He didn't want her to leave. He wanted her to stay in his arms for the rest of the night, just as he'd been longing for throughout the entire week.

The little voice of warning began talking again, telling him that these feelings were far too dangerous. He really needed to take a step back.

That thought helped as he released her and watched her get out of bed. This time, he did not look away as she retrieved her clothing, and she did not feel uncomfortable about standing naked in front of him. He watched her get dressed, admiring her lithe, slender beauty.

As Sam slipped on the last article of clothing, she turned to him. "I'll see you tomorrow. Um . . . I mean later."

Daniel nodded. "Breakfast? I missed you at the meals yesterday."

Sam sighed. "I'm sorry about that, Daniel. I was avoiding you because just the sight of you was making me want you more."

Daniel smiled. "Well, that's a whole lot better reason than what _I_ thought it was."

Sam frowned. "What did _you_ think?"

Daniel's eyes dropped to the rumpled bedcovers. "That you were uncomfortable about me wanting you. I thought I'd ruined our friendship by telling you."

Sam stepped toward him. "Oh, Daniel. I'm so sorry. I didn't intend for you to think that. I should have explained sooner."

Daniel shook his head. "Actually, that probably wouldn't have been a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Because the second you told me that you wanted me, too, I'd have been making love with you, and that probably wouldn't have been a wise thing to do in the middle of the day."

Sam grinned. "Probably not." She came the rest of the way forward and placed a long kiss on his lips. "See you at breakfast."

She walked toward the door, but Daniel's voice stopped her. She turned to see him get out of bed and slowly walk up to her. Sam's breath caught in her throat, her eyes running hotly over his body. Though they'd made love multiple times, she hadn't yet had the opportunity to get a really good look at all of him. Now that she was, she was awed by how spectacular he was. Daniel had certainly never been skinny, but, now, he possessed a body that was strong and powerful-looking, muscular, but not too much so. No one in their right mind would ever call him a geek now. She recalled having similar thoughts after Daniel descended for the second time, and she got to see what he looked like dressed in nothing but a flag wrapped around his waist. Back then, she couldn't help but wonder what the flag was hiding. Now, she knew. Daniel was, without a doubt, very well-endowed.

Daniel came all the way up to her and pulled her into his arms. His naked body pressed against her fully clothed one was enough to make Sam start reconsidering her decision to leave. His mouth came down on hers in a very long, very deep, very, very possessive kiss that had her going weak in the knees. She wound her arms around his neck and held on tight.

Finally, he ended the kiss. His lips drawing away only a fraction of an inch, he whispered, "You're coming back here tomorrow night."

Sam's lips curved upward. "I am, huh?"

"Yep, and every night for the rest of the way home." He pulled her tighter against him. "_Every_ night. Like I told you, there are lots of different ways to make love, and I plan on us exploring several of them before we reach Earth."

Sam moaned, her body fully aroused in an instant. Damn. It was cruel of him to do this to her when she was on her way to her lonely, empty bed. How was she going to get to sleep now?

Sam decided to get a little revenge. She glided her hands down his body to his butt and gave it a squeeze, which made him gasp.

She smiled against his lips. "But what if I want _you_ to come to _my_ room sometimes?"

Daniel also smiled. "That would be fine by me."

Sam suddenly grew serious, her eyes meeting his. "We'd be taking a big chance, Daniel. Sooner or later, someone would be bound to see one of us entering or leaving the other's room."

Daniel shook his head. "Nope. I have a plan."

"You do?"

"Uh huh. It came to me as I watched you get dressed." He jerked his head toward something to the left. "You see that?"

Sam looked over at the wall and realized that there was a door there, partially covered by the bureau.

"I think when they first laid out these rooms they were intending to make this one and the next one over into a VIP suite or something," Daniel told her. "I'm not sure." He grinned. "That's the room that is between yours and mine, and it's empty. One of the new personnel for Atlantis was in it on the trip over."

Sam frowned. "Daniel, if you're thinking what I believe you are, it wouldn't work. We couldn't cut through that room. There's no door between it and my room."

The archeologist shook his head. "No, that's not my plan. My plan is for you to arrange it so that you get moved to that room."

"And how would I do that?"

"You're a very smart person, Sam. I'm sure you'll think of something."

The astrophysicist looked over at the door. If she was in that room, she and Daniel could move freely. They wouldn't have to worry about being seen. They could actually spend the entire night with each other without risking getting caught.

A little thrill of excitement coursed though Sam as she thought about spending every night of the remainder of the voyage with Daniel.

"I'll think of something," she said.

Daniel kissed her again, more softly this time. "See you in a few hours."

Taking a quick peek out the door to make sure no one was around, Sam slipped out of the room and hurried to her own, not relaxing until she was safely inside. After using the bathroom, she crawled into bed. It felt cold and empty. Just a few hours spent sleeping in Daniel's arms, and she wanted to be in them all night, every night. That thought scared her. This was supposed to be just best friends with benefits, not a full-blown love affair, yet here they were, planning how they could spend every night together for the rest of the way home.

If Sam was smart, she'd take a big step back and put a little distance between them, tell Daniel that it really wouldn't be a good idea, and they should just get together occasionally. But then she thought about the glory of their lovemaking, how incredibly good it felt and how wonderful it had been to wake up in his arms. During all that time she spent with Daniel tonight, not even once had she thought about the war, about all the challenges and obstacles that stood in the way of a victory that none of them were certain of achieving. Even now, thoughts of the Ori seemed distant to her, of lesser concern.

And she was no longer lonely. That ache inside her was gone.

Okay, so maybe they could be best friends with lots and lots of benefits. There weren't any rules about how many times you could make love with your best friends with benefits partner. And, dammit, it felt good. It felt really, really good. She and Daniel both deserved that, didn't they? They deserved to have something that would help them get through all the bad stuff. They deserved some joy in their lives.

Her mind made up that it really was okay, Sam closed her eyes and let sleep claim her.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Over breakfast, Cameron studied the two members of SG-1's brain trust. Daniel and Sam appeared relaxed and happy. They were both chatting up a storm. Daniel was even being friendly to Vala. He hadn't shown irritation toward her at all.

Being a man himself, Cam recognized the signs of a guy who'd had a night with lots of great sex. It was the only thing he could think of that could have made the man this . . . chipper. A chipper Daniel was something the pilot had never seen before. In fact, just a happy Daniel was not a familiar sight. The last time he'd seen a happy Daniel was clear back at the beginning, when the archeologist cheerfully informed Cam that he'd transferred to Atlantis and would be heading out on the Prometheus. But _that_ happy had been a drop in the bucket compared to _this_ happy.

So, what had happened? Just day before yesterday, Sam was in the gym, very definitely not a happy woman, and Jackson had been in the same condition a week before then, and neither one of them had looked especially happy during the days in between. Obviously, something had changed in a big way. The pilot was really curious about what that something was.

Vala, who had _never_ seen a happy Daniel, had rarely even seen him smile, couldn't stop staring at him. His face seemed to have gotten younger overnight, dropping at least five years, if not more. His bright blue eyes were sparkling. Her heart skipped a beat as he flashed that killer smile again, the one that could probably melt the hearts of every woman onboard this ship and at the SGC. Wow. From the first moment she saw him, Vala had been attracted to his handsomeness, but, _now_, he was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous.

Back during the time that she and Daniel were bonded by those bracelets, she'd spent a lot of time thinking about getting him into bed. She'd turned her feminine wiles on him more than once without success. After her unplanned journey to the Ori galaxy and her marriage of necessary to Tomin, such thoughts weren't quite so prominent. Oh, she definitely still wanted Daniel. That had never gone away. But the fact that she was, technically, still a married woman put a rein on her efforts to get him into the sack. Of course, if he'd ever hinted that he wanted the same thing, she'd have been on him in a flash.

Now, though, as she watched him smile and laugh, she suddenly wanted him more than ever. Perhaps this good mood of his would make him more amenable to some hot, wild sex with her. He was being quite nice to her, smiling at her more than once.

Vala looked at the woman sitting across from Daniel. Sam appeared to be equally as happy, her features softer, more relaxed than Vala had ever seen them. She really looked quite pretty, beautiful even. Had she done something different with her hair this morning? She was definitely wearing more make-up.

Wait a minute. Vala looked back and forth between Daniel and Sam, who were presently sharing a conversation with a young lieutenant who'd asked if she could join them. Vala noticed a brief glance pass between the two scientists, a warm little smile. No way. It couldn't be. Their mutual good moods had to be a coincidence. Or maybe they'd gotten together in the rec room after dinner last night and finally let themselves have some fun and relax for a while. Short of the occasional basketball game, Daniel never seemed to have any fun, which frustrated Vala to no end, and Samantha's idea of fun appeared to be working on some incomprehensible piece of technology that no one but she understood.

Yes, that had to be it. It couldn't be that other thing, despite appearances to the contrary.

After breakfast, everyone else went off to do things, leaving Vala, as usual, with nothing to do. She wandered around the ship for a while, having a few conversations with people. As was most often the case, however, regardless of whether it was on this ship or at the SGC, she ended up in Daniel's office. Despite the fact that he usually acted like he wished she'd go away and let him work in peace, she never let that stop her from hanging around. Being in such a good mood today, maybe he'd welcome her presence. Perhaps if she came onto him, he'd finally do what she'd fantasized about more than once, which was locking the door and taking her on his desk. She liked the desk in his office at the SGC better, but she wasn't picky. And his present office had one big advantage over the other one: it wasn't under regular camera surveillance. Vala smiled. Yes, they could have all kinds of fun in there.

Daniel was on his computer when Vala came in, a pile of books sitting on the desk.

"Hi," he greeted cordially.

"Hello." Vala walked up to the desk. "So, what are you working on?"

"I've been trying to get a better idea of what Merlin's weapon might be exactly and how we could use it against the Ori."

"Really? That's interesting."

Vala leaned down toward the monitor, bracing one hand on the desk and the other on the back of Daniel's chair. This brought her quite close to the archeologist, close enough that, if he moved to the left just a few inches, he'd touch her.

"So, show me what you have so far," Vala requested.

"Um . . . excuse me," Daniel said, gently pushing her a bit farther away so that he could get to his mouse. Disappointed but undaunted, Vala straightened.

Daniel proceeded to explain to her what he'd been doing. She really wasn't all that interested, but she pretended to be. Men liked it when you appeared to be fascinated by whatever it was they were saying. She settled her hip on the desk, dividing her time between looking at him and at the images on the computer screen.

"I'm sure you'll have it figured out soon," she said as he finished. She got to her feet and walked around behind the chair, running her fingertips over the top of the backrest. "So, I've been thinking that perhaps we can get together in your quarters this evening and have a little fun, perhaps play some games. I believe they have some board games in the rec room that we could borrow, or you could teach me how to play chess. You don't have nearly enough fun, Daniel. You need to learn to live a little." She gave him her most winning smile.

Daniel stared at her. Only a fool wouldn't see what she was trying to do. Once again, she was coming onto him. That hadn't happened since her return from the Ori galaxy. Why all of a sudden had she decided to resume her efforts to get him into bed with her?

All the other times had irritated and aggravated him. This time, he decided to be nice about it. It was time he told her once and for all that there could be nothing between them.

When Daniel got up and shut the office door, an excited thrill traveled through Vala's body. But then he turned to her, and the look on his face told her that there would be no wild lovemaking on his desk.

"Um . . . look, Vala," he said. "You are a very attractive woman, but I'm sorry. I'm just not interested in you like that. You're . . . not my type."

Not ready to concede defeat yet, Vala walked up to him with a smile. "Don't your people have a saying? Opposites attract?"

Daniel sighed. "Vala, I don't know how to make this any clearer to you. I'm not interested."

Feeling her hopes dying, Vala decided to try one last thing. She turned and walked away a few feet. "How long has it been since you've made love, Daniel? Rumors on base say that you haven't had a girlfriend since your wife died. That's a very long time for a man to go without sexual gratification." She turned around to face him. "I'm not asking for a commitment or a relationship. It can just be sex, if that's all you want." She gave him a sultry smile. "I've had many lovers, Daniel. I know a lot of techniques for pleasuring a man. I could bring you more pleasure than any woman you've ever been with. And I _know_ you'd bring _me_ pleasure. I don't have to be your type for us to do that."

Daniel stared at her. This definitely proved that Vala really didn't understand the kind of man he was. Casual sex was something he did not do, something he'd never had an interest in. What he had with Sam now wasn't "just sex". When he made love with her, it wasn't just with his body, not just for sexual gratification. It wasn't anywhere near being that shallow and meaningless, and it satisfied him in ways that Vala never could, no matter how many "techniques" she might know.

"I don't need you to give me sexual gratification, Vala," he said at last. "I'm doing just fine."

As Vala stared at him, she realized that he was telling the absolute truth. Since no man short of a priest or a saint really would be fine after so many years without sex, there could be only one explanation: Daniel was having sex with someone else.

"Oh my God. You _are_ having sex with Samantha!" Vala blurted out. The look on Daniel's face confirmed it. He very quickly turned away, walking across the room.

"So, how long has it been going on?" she asked, trying to ignore the twinge of pain and jealousy she was feeling.

"Vala, I'm not talking about this," Daniel replied, figuring that he'd be wasting his breath by trying to deny his affair with Sam. It had probably been written all over his face a moment ago.

"Well, this I certainly did not expect."

Hearing a touch of anger and disapproval in the woman's voice, Daniel turned to her. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, let's face it, Daniel. Samantha isn't exactly the passionate sort, at least not with anything besides her science. You are a very passionate man. I'd expect you to go for someone who has more fire, more . . . ardor."

A spark of anger kindled within Daniel and rapidly grew. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about," he said. "And you obviously don't know Sam. She may not show it all the time, but she has a lot of passion inside her." He glared at her. "Being passionate and being oversexed are not synonymous," he shot out, the deliberate barb piercing Vala. "Sam is an incredible woman in every way." His expression darkened. "I would like you to leave, Vala. Now."

Suddenly, Vala realized that she'd stepped over the line. She'd let her jealousy get the better of her and said something she shouldn't have. If she didn't do something to correct this, not only will she have lost her hope of being with Daniel, she'd lose his friendship as well.

"Daniel, I'm sorry," she said earnestly. "I shouldn't have said that. It was wrong of me, and I didn't really mean it. I have great admiration and respect for Samantha. I'm just jealous of her because she has you, and I don't. I've made no secret of the fact that I've wanted you right from the start. Samantha is a very lucky woman to have gotten you."

Daniel's anger began to cool. He was still ticked off by Vala's comments about Sam, but he did understand how jealousy could make a person say things they didn't mean.

Vala took a step forward, her eyes pleading. "Please, Daniel. I don't want to lose your friendship over this. It means a lot to me." She looked into his eyes. "We can still be friends . . . can't we? Please?"

Daniel sighed. "Yes, we're still friends, Vala."

The woman relaxed. Then she smiled a bit teasingly. "So . . . it's been good, has it? Judging by the way you and Samantha were acting this morning, I'd say it's _very_ good."

Daniel frowned. "Vala, I am _not_ discussing my love life with you."

The dark-haired woman pouted. "Oh, come on, Daniel. I'm not asking for details, just a little hint."

"Sorry. No hints from me." He walked toward his computer. "Now, I have a lot of work to do, so if you will excuse me. . . ."

Vala gave an exaggerated sigh. "Very well." She headed for the door.

"Vala, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about this," Daniel said. "Sam and I don't want it broadcast all over the place."

Vala frowned. "Is it against your military's regulations?"

"Um, no, not really since I'm a civilian, but Landry and a lot of other people might not like the idea of two teammates being involved. Neither Sam nor I want to leave SG-1. I don't know what we're going to do in the long-run. We can't keep it a secret forever. But, for right now, we don't want anyone to know."

Vala nodded. "Don't worry, Daniel. No one will hear about it from me. I swear."

"Thank you."

With her hand on the doorknob, Vala paused and looked at him. "So, Daniel. Have you ever considered a threesome?"

Daniel almost laughed, even though the suggestion embarrassed him. It was so like Vala to say something like that.

"No, Vala. I'm definitely the one woman at a time kind of guy."

"Ah. Pity. It certainly has its advantages, especially for the man."

"I'm sure it does."

As Vala left the office and walked away down the hall, she let out a soft, wistful sigh. All her fantasies about being with Daniel were never going to come true. She needed to accept that now. And she could. She was Vala Mal Doran, after all, former host of the Goa'uld Quetesh. She was tough. And _no_ man was worth pining over. She'd be just fine.

Lifting her head high, Vala strode away down the corridor with confidence.

* * *

When Daniel came to Sam's lab just before noon, it wasn't easy keeping himself from kissing her. He hustled her off to lunch before his willpower could fail him. When, a few hours later, Sam showed up in his office, his willpower took a vacation. Shutting the door, he grabbed hold of her and immediately started kissing the life out of her. She moaned into his mouth and kissed him right back.

"I've been wanting to do that all day," he said as they parted.

"Me too."

"I'd love to do more than just kiss you."

"So would I," Sam admitted.

Daniel smiled. "You know, I'm usually not like this."

Sam gave him a smile. "I sort of figured that out, Daniel. You'd never have gone so long without sex, if you were."

"Yes, well, I wasn't like this even when I was married. Sha're and I did have a healthy sex life, but I didn't crave her all the time."

Feeling quite pleased and flattered, Sam smiled again. "You crave me all the time?"

"Well, not every minute of the day, but it is on my mind quite a lot." He stared at her intently. "I can't wait for tonight."

Sam felt heat flash through her. "Me neither."

"Speaking of that, have you come up with any ideas on how to get moved to that other room?"

"Not yet, but I have a few ideas."

Daniel leaned on his desk. "So, what brings you here?"

"Um . . . something happened a little while ago that has me worried. I didn't want to bring it up tonight and ruin the evening. I bumped into Vala, and she said something that makes me believe that she knows about us."

Daniel sighed. "Yeah, she knows. I was going to tell you tonight."

"How did she find out?"

"She hit on me."

Sam blinked. "She . . . she did?"

"Yeah. It's not the first time."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Sam, it would have been more than a little embarrassing for me to admit that Vala had tried to get me into bed with her. It happened during that incident with those bracelets. She hasn't tried again since she came back, though she hasn't made it a secret that she wants me."

Sam felt the green-eyed monster sink its teeth into her. Seeing the look in her eyes, Daniel quickly said, "I never considered for one moment to take her up on the offer, Sam, not even back then. Vala is about as far from being the kind of woman I go for as it's possible to get. She also drives me stark, raving mad half the time. Anyway, she hit on me, and, again, I turned her down. I finally told her in no uncertain terms that I wasn't interested in her and never would be. She tried a different tactic, and I ended up saying something that made her realize that you and I were involved. The thing is, though, that what I said couldn't have told her that it was _you_ I was involved with, so she must have suspected it before then. I've been thinking about it, and, based on something else she said, I believe I've figured it out. You and I were pretty, um . . . cheerful this morning."

Sam grimaced. "Yeah, that was a mistake. We should have made an effort to act normally. We're going to have to be more careful in the future." She frowned. "Daniel, do you think that Cam knows, too?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it's possible. I've noticed him looking at me strangely several times."

Sam sighed. "That one might be my fault."

"How so?"

She told Daniel about the incident in the gym. To her surprise, he laughed.

"Oh, he _definitely_ knows, then." He told her about the similar situation with him in the gym and the conversation afterwards.

"So, what do you think we should do?" Sam asked.

"Nothing. If Mitchell wants to talk to us about it, he'll come to us. As for Vala, she promised that she wouldn't tell anyone, and I trust that she won't."

* * *

When Daniel arrived at his quarters that night, he noticed that the door to Sam's room was open, and he could hear someone talking inside. Curious if this had anything to do with Sam's plan to get moved to the other room, he went to investigate.

"I'm afraid that, even with a blow-dryer, it would take quite a while to get that dry, ma'am," a female crew person was saying to Sam.

Daniel came into the room. "What's up?" he asked, putting on an innocent air.

"Oh, I spilled a glass of water all over my bed," Sam said, acting like she was pretty perturbed by the whole thing.

Daniel came up to the bed and saw that there was a huge wet spot on the mattress and sheet, several damp bath towels scattered about.

The archeologist frowned. "That's going to take a long time to dry," he said.

Sam sighed. "Yeah. I guess I'll be sleeping on a cot tonight."

"Why don't you just move to another room?" Daniel helpfully suggested. "The one next door is empty."

Sam smiled. "That would definitely be better than a cot."

"You wouldn't mind moving, ma'am?" the captain asked, looking relieved.

"No. It's just next door, so it wouldn't be a big problem moving my stuff over there."

With the help of Daniel and the captain, all of Sam's things were transferred to the other room in just a few minutes.

Sam couldn't help but glance over at the connecting door between this room and Daniel's. Unfortunately, the captain noticed.

"Oh, don't worry about that, ma'am," she said with a smile. "It's securely locked, so no one can come through that way."

_'Uh oh,'_ Daniel thought. _'I hope Sam can pick the lock.'_ Aloud, he said, "Um, actually, that's my room next door, so it's not a problem anyway."

The captain nodded. "Well, if you will excuse me, sir, ma'am, I'll return to my duties."

"Thanks for your help, Captain," Sam said to her.

The woman left, leaving the door open. The archeologist and the astrophysicist turned to the other door, the securely locked one.

"So, do you think you can pick it?" Daniel asked in a low voice.

"Sure, that shouldn't be a problem," Sam replied confidently.

Daniel gave her a meaningful smile. "I'll be waiting." He then left and went to his own room.

After moving the bureau that was partially blocking the connecting door on his side, Daniel got down to the business of waiting. He tried to read, but that didn't work, so he just ended up pacing. It seemed like forever had passed before the knob turned, and the door opened, a triumphantly smiling Sam on the other side. He came toward her.

"Took you long enough," he said teasingly.

"It was a tougher lock than I thought. If I had my lock picks, I'd have been through in no time. Bobby pins don't work quite so well. Besides, we really should wait until after midnight before we—"

Daniel's lips on hers silenced the rest of her sentence. He walked her backwards into her new room. Her BDU shirt was on the floor before they'd traveled five feet. Daniel's hands were now under Sam's T-shirt, one of them slipping beneath her bra.

"We should . . . we should wait," she gasped. Her respiration increased as Daniel started undoing the fastenings of her pants. "I-i-it's too early," she protested weakly. "Someone walking by the door might hear."

"We'll be really quiet," Daniel said against her lips as he inserted his hand inside her panties. He captured her loud moan with his mouth.

It wasn't easy keeping the noise level down during their lovemaking, and they often had to resort to kissing each other into silence. In the aftermath, they lay tangled together, weak, breathless, but utterly content.

They'd been lying there in contented silence, lightly dozing on and off, for around forty-five minutes or so when Daniel shifted his position on the mattress slightly. "Hmm. Another wet spot to deal with," he remarked, his eyes twinkling.

Sam grinned. "Yes, but this one I don't mind at all."

Daniel grinned as well. "So, a spilled glass of water, huh?"

"Hey, it worked, didn't it? I could have done something more radical, but I didn't want to damage government property. Besides, sometimes, simple solutions work best."

Daniel kissed her. "Yes, they do." He began caressing her body, placing kisses on her neck and face. "All night," he murmured.

Sam smiled at the pleasurable thought. "Yeah, although we should get at least a _little_ sleep."

"Uh huh," Daniel said distractedly as he dropped his kisses lower, his tongue coming out to bathe the skin of her breasts.

Sometime later, Sam had her second orgasm of the night, Daniel once again having demonstrated the talents of his mouth and hands, only, this time, on her entire body. He'd taken his time – a blissfully long time – seeking out and finding every single place that brought Sam pleasure. He'd brought her close to completion several times, only to back down, so when he finally let her go over the edge, she was in such a frenzied state that she had to muffle her outcries with her pillow.

Daniel held her as she slowly recovered, extremely surprised to feel the first stirring of arousal in a certain part of his body. Sam felt it, too, and smiled.

"Wow. I am very impressed, Doctor Jackson," she purred, rubbing herself against him.

"Well, _I'm_ just plain shocked." Daniel smiled at her. "It must be the company I'm keeping."

Sam pushed him onto his back and levered herself over him. "Well, in that case . . ." she lowered her lips to his ear, "it's my turn."

Sam took full advantage of it being "her turn" and used it to explore every inch of Daniel's body. A pillow was once again employed to muffle cries of ecstasy as she eventually brought him to climax, using her mouth and hands in ways that he'd never experienced before.

Afterwards, he lay flat on his back, panting and boneless, wondering if a man could die from an overdose of pleasure. As fast and hard as his heart was beating, a heart attack didn't seem all that farfetched.

"If you ever do that to me again, you might kill me," he gasped, wondering where she'd picked up those particular skills.

Sam snuggled up next to him, laying her head under his chin. "I'll take it easier on you next time."

He didn't reply. In fact, he was quiet for so long that Sam thought he'd fallen asleep.

"I don't want this trip to end," he finally said.

Sam knew what he was saying. On this journey home, they were temporarily divorced from the war, not actively fighting it. Once they got home, it would be different. They would be thrown fully back into the conflict, going on missions, trying to find the Sangraal. The glorious days of being able to focus mostly on each other would be over.

That thought saddened Sam. It wasn't just the frequent sex that she'd miss, it was being with Daniel like this, waking up in his arms, sharing laughter and joy, having something besides work as the driving force that got her out of bed in the morning and kept her going throughout the day.

With a feeling of stunned amazement, Sam realized that Daniel had supplanted work as the center of her existence. But then, should she really be all that surprised considering what had been going on? First, she'd been racked with unremitting desire for him that affected her ability to think about anything else, and, now that they were officially lovers, they'd made love in one way or another more times in the past twenty-four hours than she and Pete used to do in a week.

All that would change once they got back to Earth. Work would once again become the primary focus for both of them. Sam didn't want it to change. Today had been wonderful, having pleasurable thoughts of Daniel occupying her mind most of the day, counting the hours until they could be together again, daydreaming about how they'd make love. It was definitely not a bad way to spend the day. It certainly beat worrying all day about the Ori.

Daniel looked down at Sam, who had been quiet since his remark. He knew she wasn't asleep, but she was clearly deep in thought, probably thinking about the same things he was.

For years now, one of the first things that came into his mind upon awakening was work. Having no social life to speak of, other than occasional get-togethers with his teammates, there really wasn't much of anything else to think about. With no family and no friends outside the SGC, work was the main focus of his life. Back when they were fighting the Goa'uld, he usually enjoyed his work, the translations and artifacts, the occasional opportunities to explore the ruins of some ancient civilization or make contact with an existing one. He didn't like the fighting, never had, but at least back at the SGC there was always some fascinating thing to immerse himself in.

But then the Ori came into their lives, and with them came a sense of fear, horror and urgency. Daniel remembered the day Jack came to see him after he and Vala returned from their psychic journey to the Ori galaxy, how he admitted to his friend that, for the first time since becoming part of the program, he was afraid. Since then, he'd spent almost every day of his life focused on the Ori, on trying to do something, think of something to save the galaxy from the evil beings he had unleashed upon it. And with every loss, every failure, every death at the hands of the Oris' followers, his desperation to find something had grown. Translations and artifacts were no longer objects of fascination and interest, but, rather, things that might hold a clue on how to defeat the Ori. Daniel had turned over to his staff most of the translation work that had nothing to do with the Ori or the Ancients.

With each passing day, the weight Daniel had placed upon his own shoulders grew a little heavier, the future a little harder to face. Laughter was a thing of the past, and joy was an emotion only other people felt. And he was so angry, angry that beings who could do so much good in the universe had, instead, chosen a path of such utter evil, angry at the Ancients for their stupid rules and their blind adherence to them. Most of all, though, he was angry at himself for being the one who let the Ori know of humanity's existence in the Milky Way galaxy.

But then came that night he and Sam made love for the first time. Suddenly, for a few precious moments, there was something in his life that was bright, and glorious, and wonderful, and beautiful, something that dispelled the dark shadow of the Ori. Now that he and Sam were truly lovers, he had that again. As he worked yesterday, he'd done so with a feeling of hope and optimism, thoughts of Sam never far from his mind and adding a spring to his step. Making love to her, holding her in his arms, he felt light and free for the first time in so many years. And he was happy, honestly happy.

On this ship, he could let his mind focus on Sam, on making love to her, immersing himself in the smell, and taste, and feel of her, on the power and ecstasy of their lovemaking. But, on Earth, that would change. The battle with the Ori would, out of necessity, yet again take center stage, all the fear, worry and sorrow returning. He wanted to hold it off, to cling to what he had now.

Daniel didn't realize that he'd tightened his hold on Sam until she touched his face. Their gazes met, and there was no need to say anything. It was all in their eyes. They came together in a desperate, half-crazed kiss. Daniel rolled Sam underneath him, delving even deeper into her mouth. Wishing that there were no limitations on his body so that he could be inside her again that very instant, he touched her and kissed her almost frantically.

This time, Daniel did not tease Sam or play with her. There was no lingering explorations of her body. What he wanted was to make her come. When, mere minutes later, she did so, Daniel at last got to watch her face, see it alight with ecstasy, and it almost made him cry, knowing that he had given that to her, that he was the one responsible for making her feel this rapture. And that thought was enough.

As Sam slipped into sleep wrapped in Daniel's arms, he lay watching her, not wanting to surrender to sleep himself. In a few short days, this flight would end, and the Ori would again fill their lives with anger, loss and pain. But, until then, he would cling to this happiness he'd found with Sam with every ounce of strength he possessed.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

The days passed. During the day, Daniel and Sam worked, got together publicly, and spent time with others, thoughts of each other never far from their minds. At night, every night, they made love, often more than once. Wanting to find every possible way to bring each other pleasure, they experienced ways of making love that neither of them had ever tried before. On the occasions that Daniel's body failed to let him find his own release, he committed himself to the single-minded purpose of bringing Sam as much pleasure as he was able.

All their lovemaking was now done in Sam's room since it gave them the buffer of having empty rooms on either side of them. The wall behind the room was one of the main supporting walls and was thicker and stronger and, therefore, more soundproof. There were no rooms on the other side of the hallway, adding an additional buffer. The biggest risk to being heard was of someone walking by. Though it wasn't easy, they held off much of their lovemaking until after midnight, when most of the day shift would be in bed, and the people who worked at night would be on duty.

Neither one of them dwelled on how needful they had become of the hours they spent together, how tightly they were clinging to this happiness they'd found. More than that, they refused to acknowledge to themselves how, with every passing day, their feelings for each other grew stronger and deeper, more a fundamental part of their souls, for to love each other could not be allowed. To love each other would leave them open to suffering the worst kind of loss and heartache.

It was no surprise that all the hours _not_ sleeping would take a toll on them during the day. Both Daniel and Sam had dozed off over work more than once. When, for the third time, Cameron found Daniel sound asleep at his desk, he decided that it was time for the two of them to have a man-to-man talk.

Cameron quietly shut the door. Looking around the room, he spotted something that would serve his purposes. He picked up the empty metal water pitcher and the spoon – then very loudly beat the spoon against the pitcher. Daniel's head flew up off his crossed arms, his eyes wide with alarm, darting about frantically. When he saw Cameron standing there with a grin on his face, the pitcher and spoon in his hands, the archeologist gave the pilot the Daniel Jackson Glare of Death, the one he usually reserved for individuals like Sam's Replicator double.

"What the hell are you doing?" he exclaimed.

"I didn't have a straw wrapper to wake you up with this time," Cameron replied.

Daniel frowned in confusion, then recalled the incident in the mess hall when the pilot woke him up from an unplanned nap to tell him that they were approaching Atlantis.

"A tap on the shoulder would have sufficed," he growled.

"Yes, but it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun."

Daniel rubbed his eyes and put on his glasses. "So, what do you want?"

"I think that you and I need to have a little chat."

The archeologist frowned again. "About what."

"You and Sam."

Daniel stiffened. His eyes turned to the screensaver on the computer.

Cameron straddled a chair. "I know that you and she are doing the deed. I'm guessing that the first time was the night before we left Atlantis. Now, I'm not gonna ask you how and why it happened. That's none of my business. But it's pretty obvious that this isn't some flash in the pan kind of thing. From what I've seen, you two have been going at it hot and heavy for around a week now. Just how many times have you two gotten together?"

Daniel glared at you. "You think that's any of your business?"

"It is if it affects the team. You're both looking a little ragged around the edges, Jackson. Happy as pigs in a wallow, but definitely sleep-deprived."

Daniel frowned down at the desktop. Yes, it was true that he and Sam probably weren't getting enough sleep. They always stayed up until after midnight, when Daniel would then go to Sam's room. Their foreplay and "fooling around" was often rather lengthy, their frantic mating of the first few times now in the past, and, on many nights, they'd awaken after a few hours and make love again. Obviously, they couldn't keep up this pace forever, especially at their age, but, for right now, they couldn't seem to stop themselves.

"I've . . . lost count," he admitted reluctantly. He glanced at Mitchell and saw the man gaping at him.

"You've lost count?" Cameron's mind was spinning. "Damn, Jackson. You sure are making up for lost time."

"I guess so."

Cam shook his head. "Have either of you thought about what you're going to do when we get home?" He watched as Daniel's head dropped again, brow furrowed. "You're going to have to tell Landry, you know. You can't keep this a secret."

Daniel sighed. "No, I suppose we can't." He groaned. "Jack's going to have a stroke."

"Oh, no doubt of that."

The archeologist glared at him. "Thanks for the support."

"Hey, as long as you two can keep this thing from interfering with the job, I have no problem with it." Cameron grinned. "I can't wait to see Teal'c's reaction. His eyebrow might actually achieve orbit. Can I be the one to tell him?"

"No," Daniel replied emphatically.

"Damn."

"Aren't you worried that Landry will split up the team?"

"Maybe a little. I was in the beginning. But he's a pretty fair guy. I'd say that he'll probably give you two a chance. As long as you don't blow it, it should be all right." Cameron got to his feet. "So, here's a little down home, country boy advice. Try sleeping at night once in a while. It's way better than sleeping on your desk or in a mess hall."

With a little smirk, the pilot left, leaving Daniel to his thoughts.

That evening, the archeologist knocked on the connecting door well before midnight. Sam opened it and smiled.

"Jumping the gun, aren't you?"

"We need to talk."

Sam lost her smile. "Oh. Okay. Come on in."

They sat down, Sam on the bed, Daniel on the chair.

"So, what's up?" she asked.

"I had a visit from Mitchell today." He told her about the conversation. Sam was more than a little embarrassed that the two men had discussed hers and Daniel's love life.

"I guess he does have a point," she admitted. "You and I have been pretty . . . single-minded."

"Yes, we have. I think I've had more sex this past week than during an entire Abydonian month with Sha're."

Sam grinned. "Well, can we help it if we find each other irresistible?"

Daniel returned the grin. "Nope. It's totally not our fault." The smile left his face. "Still, I think that we should probably, um. . . ."

"Just sleep tonight?"

"Yeah." He gazed at her intently. "I would really like to do it with you."

"I'd like that very much," Sam told him softly.

Daniel gave her a smile, which didn't stay on his face for long.

"Mitchell told me that we have to tell Landry about us."

Sam sighed. "Yeah, I guess we were both being rather foolish to even consider keeping this a secret after we got home."

"He seems to think that Landry will give us a chance to prove that we can remain together on SG-1 without our relationship getting in the way."

"I hope he's right."

They both got ready for bed, each of them doing so in their own quarters to avoid temptation. Sam smiled when she saw how Daniel was dressed when he came back into her room.

"That isn't what you usually wear, is it?" she asked.

Daniel glanced down at himself. He was dressed in only his boxers.

"No," he said. "But then I usually don't have anything but the sheets and blankets to snuggle up to." He smiled. "You want me to go put on some more clothes?"

"No, no," Sam hastily replied. "I definitely wasn't complaining."

Still smiling slightly, Daniel studied her choice of clothing, which was a pair of cotton tap pants and an athletic tee. The tap pants displayed the full length of her long, slender legs.

"Don't even say it," Sam said. "No, I don't usually wear these to bed. I wear them under my sweats when I work out."

Daniel's smile had more than a touch of amusement in it, his eyes twinkling merrily.

"Come to bed before I change my mind and boot you out," Sam said, her expression clearly stating that she wasn't serious.

Keeping his mouth shut, Daniel slipped under the covers with Sam. As she came into his arms, laying her head on his chest over his heart, he smiled in contentment. He had expected it to be a struggle to fight his sexual desire for her, but he was okay. Oh, there was desire, and he knew it wouldn't take much to fan it into an irresistible flame, but at that moment, hearing her contented sigh and watching her close her eyes, a happy little smile on her face, the emotion that was filling his heart was not desire, it was pure joy, joy the likes of which he hadn't known in so many years that he could not remember when he'd last felt it.

But Daniel did not want to analyze that joy. He didn't want to examine it too closely. He was happy because he was no longer alone. He was happy because he now had someone to help him deal with the terrible things in his life. He was happy because a smart, wonderful, beautiful, desirable woman had chosen him to be with. That's what it was.

With another smile, Daniel closed his eyes and joined Sam in sleep.

* * *

Daniel was snoring when Sam awoke. It wasn't much of a snore, very soft, actually. She tilted her head up and looked at him. His mouth was open, his hair sleep-tousled. One arm was flung up over his head, the other one wrapped firmly about her waist. He looked at least ten years younger than his chronological age, and he was just so darn cute that it made Sam smile.

The astrophysicist glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that she'd slept all the way through the night. When was the last time she'd done that?

Sam looked at Daniel again. She wished that she could stop time and spend a few more hours like this with him. She had discovered that simply sleeping with Daniel could be as pleasurable as making love with him. Of course, it was a different sort of pleasure, but no less satisfying.

Sam recalled what it was like sleeping with Pete. He moved around a lot, and, when she awoke in the morning, more often than not, his back would be turned toward her, and he'd have most of the covers. Now, here she was with Daniel. He must have barely moved during the night, and his arm was around her, holding her close, as if, even in his sleep, he didn't want to let her go. _She_ didn't want to let _him_ go. She wanted to hold onto him forever, for the rest of her life.

A moment of panic assailed Sam. No, no, no, no! She shouldn't be having those kinds of feelings. They were too dangerous. She couldn't let herself get too lost in him. Under no circumstances could she let herself fall in love with him.

The sudden cessation of the snore told Sam that Daniel was waking up. She looked up to see him open his eyes. He blinked a few times, then looked down at her, smiling.

"Hi," he said, a touch of huskiness in his voice.

"Hi."

Daniel cupped her cheek and brought his lips down to hers in a long kiss. After a few seconds, his tongue came out and asked for entrance. She let it in. The kiss soon grew deep and passionate, and Sam really began to wish that there was time for a little morning lovemaking.

She broke away from his lips. "Mmm. We'd better stop now. Otherwise, we're both going to end up being very late."

Daniel glanced at the clock, receiving a surprise when he saw what it said.

"Wow. I can't believe I slept that long without waking up even once."

Regretfully, they got out of bed, Daniel heading off to his own room to shower and get dressed.

"Good morning," Cameron greeted as the archeologist sat down across from him in the mess hall a while later. He studied Daniel's face, seeing that the man looked quite well rested. When Sam joined them a short while later, he noted the same thing about her.

"Well, you two look well rested," he remarked with a little smile.

"Yes," Daniel said. "We . . . took your advice."

"Advice?" Vala inquired. "What advice?"

"I just said they needed to get more sleep," the pilot told her.

"Oh." Vala looked at Sam, then Daniel, seeing that they did look like they'd gotten a good nights' sleep. Did they share a bed last night?

Since her conversation with Daniel, Vala hadn't spent much time around him. The truth was that she'd been avoiding him. Knowing that he was in a relationship with Sam and would never be with her had changed things. She no longer felt comfortable hanging around him all the time. She was sure he was happy about that.

Of course, Daniel was still her friend, and she still liked him, but things were different now. He was another woman's man, no longer available.

Daniel had, indeed, noticed that Vala hadn't come to his office since their conversation. He wondered about the reason for it, if it was because he was no longer "available" or if it was something else. One good thing about it was that he was able to get more work done.

"So, Jackson. How about a game of basketball later?" Cameron asked the archeologist. "One on one."

Daniel thought about it a moment. "All right," he agreed. Basketball was not something he used to have much of an interest in, but Mitchell had pulled him into it once he found out that Daniel had played a bit in college, though not on the university's team.

"Would you mind an audience?" Sam asked, surprising everyone. She'd never shown an interest before in either watching or playing.

"Nope, not at all," Cameron replied. "If you'd like to play, we could make it a foursome. Vala and Teal'c have played against me and Jackson a couple of times."

"No thanks. I've never played the game in my life. Just being a spectator will be enough for me." Sam smiled. "Now, if we were talking volleyball, I would be very happy to clean your clock. I was volleyball champ at the Academy."

Cam studied her. "Oh, really. Well, we'll have to see about that one of these days. I'm not half-bad at volleyball."

The game was played that afternoon at two o'clock. The basketball court was actually one of the large, unused storage rooms. Some of the crew had put up the baskets shortly before the long journey to the Pegasus galaxy began.

As the two men played, Sam and Vala watched from a bench set against the wall. Vala quite enjoyed watching the two very attractive, well-built men move around the court. Even knowing what she did, her eyes couldn't help but go to Daniel more often than his opponent, admiring the play of his sweat-slicked muscles as he displayed an athletic prowess that you'd never guess he possessed when he was hunched over some artifact or translation.

Vala wasn't the only one who was enjoying the show. Sam's gaze was nearly eating Daniel up. She found that she was getting more than a little turned on. An image of the two of them making wild, passionate love in the locker room showers after the game had her squirming on the bench.

_'Okay, Sam. Get that image out of your head,'_ she told herself. _'Just concentrate on the game.' _

Vala took her eyes off the game and glanced at the woman beside her. She noticed the heightened color in Sam's face and the way the woman was looking at Daniel. There could be no doubt of what was running through the astrophysicist's mind. Ignoring the brief twinge of jealousy in favor of her much stronger curiosity, Vala leaned closer to the woman.

"So, I'm guessing that Daniel must be very good in bed," she murmured.

All thoughts of the game going right out of her mind, Sam whipped her head around to stare at Vala.

"Excuse me?" she nearly stammered.

"Oh, come now, Samantha. We're both adult women who have had our share of lovers, though I, no doubt, have had many more. There's nothing wrong with two ladies sharing a little information about their love life. If I presently had a love life, I'd be happy to tell you all about it."

Sam frowned. "Vala, you may be the kiss-and-tell sort, but I'm not, and, even if I was, I wouldn't talk about my relationship with Daniel with you. He's told me all about you hitting on him even though he wasn't interested."

Not letting the comment bother her, Vala shrugged. "You can't blame a woman for trying, can you? He is, after all, a very attractive man. Of course, that doesn't always mean a guy is good in bed. I've been disappointed more than once by a man who looked good but was terrible in bed."

Sam returned her gaze to the men. She was so tempted to tell Vala that Daniel was most definitely not lousy in bed, but she held her tongue. It was none of the woman's business.

Seeing that Sam wasn't going to take the bait, Vala sighed silently and also turned back to the players.

The game ended a few minutes later, Daniel winning by two points.

"That was a lucky shot," Cameron insisted as they walked toward the women.

Daniel shrugged. "Lucky or not, it still scored."

They stopped before Sam and Vala.

"Ladies," Cam said. He turned to the astrophysicist. "So, did you enjoy the game?"

"Very much so," Sam replied, her eyes going to Daniel, who smiled at her.

Being no dummy, Cameron knew exactly why Sam had enjoyed the game.

"Well, I'm going to hit the showers," he told everyone.

"Yes, me too," said Daniel, giving Sam one last smile.

Sam was on her way back to her lab when she was called to the bridge. It turned out that there was a glitch in the computer system, and Colonel Emerson wanted to know if she could help the techs track down the problem. Happy to have something to do that might prove challenging, Sam readily agreed. Several hours later, she was almost wishing she hadn't. It was close to midnight by the time they succeeded in fixing the problem.

As soon as Daniel entered her quarters, he could see that Sam was tired. He asked her what happened.

"It sounds like you could use a massage," he remarked after she finished telling him.

Sam's face brightened. "God, I haven't had a massage in years."

"Well, then I'd say that you're way past due for one."

Once Sam was dressed for bed, Daniel pulled back the covers and instructed her to lie down on her stomach. The moment he started kneading the tight muscles in her neck and shoulders, she let out a moan of appreciation, which made the archeologist smile. He kept working on her, focusing on the tightest muscles. He'd been at it for around ten minutes when he realized that Sam was being awfully quiet. He looked at her face and saw that she'd fallen asleep.

With another smile, Daniel got undressed, used the bathroom, then slipped under the covers, pulling them up around himself and Sam. The moment he was lying beside her, the sleeping woman turned onto her side and snuggled up to him. The unconscious gesture touched Daniel deep inside, making a little ache grow in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and placed a soft kiss on her brow. Then he closed his eyes and followed her into slumber.

* * *

When Sam woke up the next morning, it was to see Daniel watching her with a tender smile on his face.

"Good morning," he said. "You fell asleep before I got to the best part of your massage."

Sam smiled. "Well, then you'll just have to give me another one one of these days."

"I'll be sure to do that."

"What time is it?"

"A little earlier than we woke up yesterday, but not by much." He began caressing her through her T-shirt. "However, there might be just enough time for a little of what we didn't have time for yesterday morning."

Daniel's touch instantly aroused Sam's desire, making her wish that they had all the time in the world. She rolled onto her back, pulling him down on top of her. He began placing kisses down the length of her neck to her chest. When he pushed up her T-shirt and started doing wonderful things to her exposed breasts, her urgency to feel his body joined with hers became almost unbearable. She shoved down his boxers and began tugging down her tap pants. Daniel helped her get them off, taking his own underwear completely off in the process, then stripped off her tee. He then laid back down on her, now skin on skin.

For several minutes, the pace of their lovemaking was slow and gentle, the lovers lost in the sensations. But they both knew that time was not on their side, that they both had to get up and go to work soon.

Then again, Daniel thought, perhaps they could kill two birds with one stone.

Sam was surprised when he separated from her, tossed back the covers, and got out of the bed.

"What are you doing?" she asked in frustration.

He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Multitasking." A second later, he lifted her up off the bed. Surprised, she wrapped her arms and legs around him. Then she saw where he was taking her, and her respiration increased dramatically.

He carried her into the bathroom and shut the door. Not putting her down, he turned on the shower. In the time that they had been lovers, they had not yet showered together, knowing that doing so would significantly increase the time it took them to get ready for work. Daniel wasn't going to worry about that this time. What did it matter if they were several minutes late? Both Mitchell and Vala already knew about their relationship, and none of the crew would be paying attention.

Once the water was the right temperature, Daniel stepped under the spray with Sam. He finally let her down. He picked up the soap and began to work it into a lather. Sam watched him, her body trembling with eagerness.

When he brought his soapy hands to her body, she let out a low moan. Her head fell back as Daniel very thoroughly soaped up her body, paying a whole lot more attention to certain areas than simply cleaning those places would require. He moved around behind her, continuing the washing, going all the way down her legs to her feet, then back up again.

By the time Daniel was standing again, Sam was panting with need. His hands reached around her and cupped her breasts, soap-slicked thumps gliding over them. She began rocking her hips back against him.

In the next moment, Daniel turned her around in his arms. He lifted her up, pressed her against the wall, and mated his body with hers.

This time, they did not go slow. As the water pounded down upon them, they make love swiftly, burning with the need for release. It was not long before Daniel was suddenly hit with his climax, Sam following him almost immediately.

By the time Daniel's release was over, his legs were shaking. He laid his forehead against the wall of the stall as he drew in deep breaths, needing its stability.

After a moment, he lowered Sam to her feet. Then he took her mouth in a long, heated kiss.

"I am never going to want to take a shower without you," she murmured against his lips.

Chuckling, Daniel released her. "Well, we'd better finish this one before the hot water runs out."

"That won't happen," Sam assured him. She smiled. "You should see the size of the hot water heater on this ship." Her smile turned sultry. "Besides, I haven't yet had the opportunity to wash _you_."

Daniel's slowing pulse began speeding up as Sam reached for the bar of soap.

Sam's attention to detail in the washing of her lover's body was equal to what his had been. By the time she started going down his legs, Daniel was heartily wishing that he was twenty years younger so that he could make love to her a second time. Even though that was not possible, he utterly enjoyed every moment of the experience.

Finally, knowing that it was time to get out, they rinsed off, turned off the water, and exited the stall. Drying each other off proved to be almost as much fun as the washing had been. Wiping the beads of water from Sam's breast, Daniel bent down and licked off the last few droplets, making Sam moan.

"God, I am not going to be in any fit condition to go to work if you keep doing things like that," she gasped, her body quickly becoming aroused again.

Daniel smiled. "Well, I could take care of that, you know."

"We don't have time."

He sighed. "Yeah, you're right."

They left the bathroom, and Daniel went to his own room to get dressed, picking up his discarded clothes on the way.

Sam and Daniel both got deeply involved in their own projects that day, so they didn't see much of each other. That night, it was not quite eleven when a knock on the connecting door had the archeologist opening it to let the astrophysicist in.

"Now who's the one jumping the gun?" he asked. His smile disappeared. "Or do you need to talk about something?"

"No. Well, yes, I thought we could talk, but not about anything in particular. I just want to spend a little extra time with you." Sam paused. "Tomorrow is our last full day."

Daniel's gaze dropped to the floor. He'd thought about it a lot today, the fact that, day after tomorrow, they'd reach Earth. They'd have only two more nights together onboard ship. After that, there was no telling when they'd be able to get together again.

They both got dressed for bed, then got under the covers, leaving the light on. The seconds passed in silence as Daniel's fingers ran up and down Sam's arm. On impulse, he picked up her hand and placed a kiss on the palm and another on the inside of her wrist. The sweet, romantic gesture warmed Sam's heart. She pulled his lips down to hers in a long, tender kiss.

"This feel so good," she said.

Daniel caressed her cheek. "Yes, it does." He ignored the voice inside that was telling him it felt _too_ good. "I was thinking about when we get back. We should probably always get together at your place."

"Why always my place?" she asked.

"You live in a house." Daniel grinned. "My neighbors aren't used to being kept awake by certain noises coming from my apartment."

Sam smiled. "Noises, huh?"

Daniel tilted up her face and smiled down at her. "Uh huh. I figure that, once we're off this ship, there won't be any reason to keep the noise level down." He punctuated the statement with a deep kiss. Sam curled her fingers into his hair and held him to her, deepening the kiss even more.

"There is another advantage to my place," she said after their lips separated.

"What's that?"

"A queen-size bed."

"Oh, I have that, too, now. When I moved from my house to the apartment, I got rid of the little bed. My feet always hung over the end. I only got that bed because the bedroom wasn't big enough for a larger one." He smiled again. "Of course, when I got my present bed, I wasn't anticipating that I might want it for some other reason as well."

Sam laughed softly. She looked up into Daniel's smiling face. She brushed a fingertip over his lips. "This is so nice to see. You rarely smiled after the stuff with the Ori began."

Daniel's gaze dropped from her eyes. "I really didn't have much of anything to smile about."

Sam gazed at him earnestly. "We _are_ going to beat them, Daniel. You have to believe that."

The archeologist didn't reply. "I don't want to talk about the Ori," he said after a moment, pulling her a bit closer.

They talked about other things instead, a quiet conversation during which they shared little personal things with each other that they never had before. It was shortly after midnight that the talking was replaced by slow lovemaking.

When they both slipped into sleep a while later, it was with the mutual wish that the end of this trip wasn't coming so soon.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Both Daniel and Sam were a little quiet and subdued the next day, the thought that they'd be arriving home tomorrow never far from their minds. That night, their last night onboard, they made love very slowly, savoring each touch, every kiss.

The odyssey reached Earth late in the afternoon the next day. Taking a transport from its hanger at Area 51, Vala and the three members of SG-1 arrived at Stargate Command in the early evening. They were in the briefing room a short while later, along with Teal'c, where they debriefed General Landry on the mission and handed in their reports.

"So, you managed to bag an Ori ship in the process, huh?" the general said, pleased by the mission's success.

Cameron smiled. "Yes, sir. And with the Supergate now no longer available for them to use, they won't be able to send any more ships through."

"Unless they build another gate," Daniel pointed out.

Landry turned to him. "About this stuff with Morgan Le Fay. She didn't give you any specific information on those two planets?"

"No. She knew that she was under constant observation by the other Ascended and that if she said too much, they'd stop her."

"Which is exactly what they did in the end."

Daniel's gaze dropped to the table. "Yeah. She stepped over the line."

"Any idea on what will happen to her?"

Daniel shook his head. "I suppose it's possible that they'll go easy on her. Her transgression wasn't as big as mine was when I went after Anubis. Also, she's one of the Ancients, one of the original Ascended. I have to hope that will hold some weight with the others."

The general nodded. "We'll send MALPs to the two planets tomorrow, see what things look like." He picked up a file folder. "It's been busy here in this galaxy while you've been gone. This is the list of the most recent planets that we know have been attacked by the Ori forces or have accepted Origin. It's alarmingly long."

"May I see it?" Daniel asked. He was handed the file. His eyes skimmed down the list, recognizing some of the planet names or designations. Then he came to one that made him draw in a sharp breath, his body stiffening.

"Daniel, what is it?" Sam asked.

"M25-432, the planet we moved Shamda and his people to."

"Oh no. Did they. . . ."

Daniel closed the file. "They went Origin."

"Then at least they're still alive. There's still hope for them."

Daniel nodded, not looking at her. He got to his feet. "If you will excuse me, General, I, um, have some things I want to get done."

"Certainly."

Everyone watched the archeologist leave.

"Who's Shamda?" Vala asked.

"He and his people took Jackson in after he descended without any memories," Cameron explained. "He lived with them for two months. That was on Vis Uban. Before luring Anubis there as part of the plan to destroy his superweapon, the SGC moved the people to another planet so that they'd be safe."

"Daniel Jackson would have strong feelings for the people of Vis Uban," Teal'c said.

"Yeah," Sam murmured. She looked at Landry. "Um, sir, permission to—"

"You're dismissed," he interrupted. "That goes for all of you. Go on home and get something to eat and a good nights' sleep. The next few days are probably going to be pretty busy."

Sam went straight to Daniel's office. The only light on was the desk lamp. Daniel was sitting half in shadow at the desk, staring at something in his hands. As Sam approached, he glanced at her, then quickly turned away, blinking away the tears in his eyes. He set the object in his hand on the desktop. It was a small figurine of a monkey.

"Shamda gave that to me before we said goodbye for the last time," Daniel murmured. He smiled very faintly. "His favorite proverb was one about dancing monkeys. The moral of the story was that appearances could be deceiving. He told me that, when they found me lying naked in those ruins with no memories of who I was or where I came from, some people might have dismissed me as a crazy guy not worth their effort. He said that, despite first appearances, he knew that there was something important about me and what had happened to me." His gaze dropped to his lap. "His must despise having to live under the laws of the Ori, being forced to do and say only the things they allow. His people are nomads, used to being free to go where they please, to do what they want, believe the things they want. I wonder why they didn't just leave after the Prior came, go someplace else."

"Maybe they couldn't. The Prior might have done something to the DHD to prevent them from leaving." Sam came forward and crouched before him. She looked up into his face, trying to meet his eyes, which he kept turned away from her. "I know how much this must be hurting, Daniel, but at least they're alive. They didn't put up a fight. Shamda was smart. He knew that the important thing was to keep his people alive."

Daniel nodded, trying to look on the bright side. Sam was right. They were alive, and as long as they were, there was some hope.

Sam got to her feet. "Come on. Let's go out to dinner somewhere. Then you can come to my place."

Daniel finally looked at her, smiling slightly. "Shall I pack an overnight bag?" he asked in a low voice, not wanting some passerby to hear.

Sam smiled. "That might be a wise precaution."

They went to a casual restaurant to eat. Sam tried her best to lighten Daniel's mood but was only partially successful. After dinner, he went to his place and took care of a few things before packing a bag and going to Sam's.

They did not make love that night, Daniel only wanting to hold Sam. He did not sleep well, thoughts of the people who had generously given him a home when he had absolutely nothing else preying on his mind.

When they got up the next morning, Sam could tell that Daniel hadn't gotten much sleep. There were no smiles as they got dressed, and she hated it. Ever since she and Daniel became lovers, he had been like a different person, happy, playful, almost carefree. Now, with this newest piece of terrible news, that happy Daniel was gone. She knew that he was still blaming himself for the scourge of the Ori. Knowing that the people who had clothed and sheltered him for two months of his life were now virtual slaves of the evil ascended beings was, no doubt, making him feel even more guilty. Dammit. Why did this have to happen? Why, of all planets, did it have to be that one.

Sam mentally shook her head. A lot of people on a lot of worlds were suffering because of the Ori. Shamda and his people were simply more to add to the list, a list that would keep growing unless they could find a way to stop the Ori and their followers.

The first MALP was sent out shortly after Daniel and Sam arrived at the SGC. It revealed a world with a thick, toxic atmosphere.

"Any teams we send there are going to have to wear Hazmat suits," Sam said. "And the particulates in the atmosphere will greatly reduce visibility. It may take a while to search the place."

"I want that air analyzed to make sure that it's not going to do something nasty, like slowly eat its way through the suits or clog up the breathing apparatus," Landry said. "Which world is this?"

"Castiana," Daniel replied.

"All right. Let's roll up another MALP and send it out to the other planet."

The MALP feed from Sahal showed nothing but dense forests under the cover of darkness. Seeing that it was night there, Landry gave an order for the gate to be dialed up again in a few hours.

Daniel went to his office and got to work. He hadn't been there long when Cameron showed up.

"So, when are you going to tell Landry?" the pilot asked.

"Sam and I haven't discussed it yet. We've been a little preoccupied with other things."

"Well, just don't take too long. The last thing you want is for someone else to find out first and blab to the general. That would not be a good thing. I know that you stayed at Sam's last night."

Daniel glared at him. "Are you spying on us?"

"No. I called your home number last night and got no answer. I just put two and two together."

"Well, don't worry. We'll talk to the general soon."

Cam smiled slightly. "And Teal'c? I want to be there when you tell him. I'm bringing a yardstick along to see how high his eyebrow goes."

"Sorry, but you and the yardstick will have to sit it out. Sam and I will be telling Teal'c in private."

"Damn, Jackson. You're stealing all my fun."

After the pilot left, Daniel decided to go to Sam's lab. He told her about the conversation.

"I guess we really shouldn't put it off," she said with a sigh. "Cam is right that if someone found out and told Landry first, it could cause trouble."

Daniel nodded. "So, which of us should do the talking?"

"I'll do it. I think that would be best."

They headed to the general's office. After a short wait for Landry to get off the phone, he called them in.

"Do you have some new information?" he asked.

"Um, no, sir," Sam replied nervously. "This is . . . something personal."

Landry's eyebrows lifted slightly. "Personal? All right. Sit down, then."

The two scientists took a seat. They glanced at each other, then turned back to the general.

"It, uh, has to do with me and Daniel," Sam said. "We've, um. . . . There's been a . . . a change in our . . . relationship."

"Your relationship?" Landry looked back and forth between them. "Colonel, don't tell me that you two are. . . ."

"Yes, sir," Sam responded, squirming a bit in her seat.

The general gaped at them. "When the hell did this happen?"

"On the trip back. Well, actually, it started on Atlantis, but, uh. . . ." Sam blushed.

Landry ran a hand across his face. "Colonel Carter, with all the things on my plate, the last thing I need is to find out that two members of SG-1 are now doing something with each other that they both know they shouldn't be, although I suppose I should be grateful that it's not you and Colonel Mitchell. At least this isn't breaking a dozen regulations. Even so, I'm not sure if I can allow both of you to remain on SG-1."

Daniel spoke up. "Sir, I understand where you're coming from, but Sam and I can handle this. We're going to do everything we can to make sure that our relationship does not affect our jobs or how we perform on missions. All we're asking is that you give us a chance to prove ourselves."

"Does Mitchell know about this?"

"Yes, sir," Sam replied.

"And what are his views on it?"

Daniel was the one who answered. "He said that he was fine with it as long as it didn't cause a problem on duty."

Landry sat in silence, staring at them. Their nervousness had gone up several more notches by the time he spoke again.

"All right. For now, I'll leave things as they are. But you two are on probation. If I suspect that there is any trouble, one of you is off SG-1. Got it?"

Daniel and Sam both relaxed.

"Yes, sir," Sam replied. "Thank you, General."

"You do realize that I'm going to have to tell General O'Neill about this."

Daniel and Sam both made a face and shared another glanced.

"Yes, we know," the archeologist replied, sounding resigned.

"He is going to flip."

"Oh, that's for sure."

"You're dismissed. Shut the door on your way out."

Once the door was closed behind the scientists, Landry picked up the phone and began dialing. A familiar voice answered on the third ring.

"Hey, Jack. Are you sitting down?"

There was a brief pause. "No. Should I be?"

"It might be wise."

"Ooookaay. Hold on." The line went silent for a few seconds. "All right, I am now sitting down. Hit me with it. Did the president take up knitting? The Asgard started a cabaret? The Priors are handing out flowers and peace signs and singing Kumbaya around group campfires?"

"Doctor Jackson and Colonel Carter are sleeping together."

Silence. Utter, complete silence. It went on so long that Landry wondered if they'd gotten disconnected.

"Come again?" Jack finally asked. "There must be something wrong with this connection, because I could have sworn you just said that. . . ."

"Jackson and Carter are sleeping with each other," Landry repeated.

"Yeah, that's what it sounded like you said. Have you been drinking, Hank?"

"Not yet, but I'm going to once I get off-duty."

"Daniel and Carter."

"Yes."

"Are having sex."

"Well, not at this moment . . . or at least I _hope_ not."

There was another silence. "I'm still waiting for the punch line, Hank."

"Well, you're going to be waiting a long time, Jack, because this is no joke. They just left my office a few minutes ago after telling me. It started on Atlantis."

"And what was their excuse? The moon shining romantically on that big, blue ocean?"

"We didn't go into details about the why and how. I'm as shocked by this as you are, Jack. Well, okay, maybe not _quite_ as shocked. I haven't known them as long as you have."

Jack muttered something unintelligible. "You know, they've both done things that weren't all that bright, especially Daniel, but this . . . this takes the cake. What are you going to do about their teammate status?"

"For now, they're on probation. I'm going to see how things go. I'd really rather not lose either of them off the team. Jackson's knowledge and skills are vital out there in this fight with the Ori, and Carter's skills are equally as important. Sure, I could put one of them on a different SG team, but the two of them together is one of the biggest parts of what makes SG-1 so effective."

"I can't argue with you on that." There was once again silence over the line. "I am having a tough time wrapping my brain around this. I'd _never_ have expected this."

"Neither would I. So, when can we expect you to arrive?"

"What makes you think I'm coming over there?"

Landry snorted. "You're kidding, right?"

"Tomorrow. I'll get a morning transport out."

"I'll be looking forward to it . . . although I doubt that Jackson and Carter will be enjoying it."

* * *

When the gate on Sahal was dialed again, dawn appeared to be breaking over the trees. They could still only see forest. If there were any habitations or ruins, they were beyond the view of the MALP.

"All right, we'll send a team through to check the immediate area," Landry said. He turned to Sam. "What's the word on the air on the other planet?"

"There's nothing corrosive in the atmosphere, but there is some concern about the high particulate count. We've got some scientists working on an extra filtering system to add to the Hazmat suits. They should have it ready by tomorrow morning. Even so, I'd recommend that the team we send not go too terribly far from the gate."

"Agreed." Landry looked at Daniel. "So, what are the odds that Merlin's weapon is on that planet?"

"Well, we don't know how long the atmosphere has been like that. It could be a relatively recent change. If Merlin created the Sangraal back in the time that the legend of Arthur took place, that was some fifteen hundred years ago. There could have been some kind of cataclysm that took place on the planet since then."

"Well, if the Sangraal was there, let's just hope that it wasn't destroyed in the same cataclysm."

"Will SG-1 be going through to one of the planets, sir?" Cameron asked.

"No, you'll be staying here, Colonel. The teams could be out for days, and I don't want you tied up for that long, not when Jackson's knowledge of the Ancients or the Ori might suddenly be urgently needed. Besides," Landry turned to Daniel and Sam. "We're going to be getting a visitor tomorrow."

"Visitor, sir?" Cam inquired.

Daniel let out a groan. "It's Jack, isn't it."

The general smiled ever so slightly. "You got it."

"For what purpose is O'Neill coming?" Teal'c asked.

Cameron grinned and clapped the Jaffa on the shoulder. "That's something Jackson and Sam aren't going to be able to put off telling you any longer."

"Ooh. Can I watch?" Vala asked eagerly.

"No!" Daniel and Sam both replied adamantly, which resulted in a pout from the black-haired woman.

"Come on, Teal'c," Daniel said. "Let's go to my office."

He, Sam and the Jaffa went to the office, Daniel shutting the door once they got there. He had to wonder if Vala would come and try to listen in through it.

"What is this concerning?" Teal'c asked.

"It's concerning Sam and I," Daniel answered. "We're, um . . . we're in a relationship now."

Teal'c stared at them. "You speak of a sexual relationship."

The two scientists shifted uncomfortably.

"Uh . . . yeah," Daniel said.

"I see."

It was their turn to stare.

"You're not surprised?" Sam asked.

"I am only mildly surprised. I have long thought that, if you were to have such a relationship, it would bring mutual satisfaction and contentment. I merely believed that, since such a great length of time has passed, it would not take place."

"Teal'c, are you saying that you thought Daniel and I would make a good couple?"

The Jaffa nodded once. "Indeed."

Both Sam and Daniel blinked in surprise.

"Well, I guess Mitchell wouldn't have needed the yardstick," the archeologist remarked.

"For what purpose would Colonel Mitchell have needed such a measuring device?" Teal'c asked.

"Um . . . never mind."

"Is O'Neill coming to speak with you about your relationship?"

"That's what I'm assuming, though I don't know how much _discussing_ will be going on. Personally, I'm expecting more yelling and tasteless, ill-humored remarks."

* * *

When Daniel and Sam both went home that evening, the team that had been sent to Sahal still hadn't found anything. It appeared that the forest was pretty extensive. They had discussed sending a UAV up, but it wouldn't work launching it through the Stargate because it would never clear the trees. Sam came up with the idea of sending through a small, remote-controlled helicopter outfitted with video equipment that the team could use to take a look over the trees. The problem was finding someone at the SGC with the skills to fly it.

The couple decided it would be best not to get together that night. Besides, after being gone for over a month, both of their places were in dire need of some dusting, and there was a big pile of mail and a whole lot of email to go through. At least they didn't have to clear out their refrigerators, both of them having gotten rid of the perishable contents before they left for Atlantis.

It was almost eleven o'clock when Daniel's phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and smiled as he picked up the receiver.

"Hi. I miss you, too," he said.

Sam gave a little laugh. "Pathetic, isn't it. We both got too used to being with each other."

"Yes, well, just wait until we go to bed. That bed of mine is going to feel really empty."

"Tell me about it." Sam paused. "What are we going to say to General O'Neill tomorrow?"

"I have no idea. You know he's going to ask us how and why it happened."

"Yes, that's what I'm afraid of."

"We could plead the fifth," Daniel suggested.

"_You_ could, but I don't have that luxury. He can order me to talk."

"Do you think he'd do that?"

"I honestly don't know. We can't claim it's private and say it's none of his business, not when this thing may affect SG-1."

Daniel sighed. "I guess we're just going to have to deal with it the best we can."

"Yeah." Sam paused. "Well, I'll let you get to bed. See you in the morning."

"Good night, Sam. Sweet dreams."

"You too."

Disconnecting the call, Daniel got up and headed off to the bedroom and its big, empty bed.

* * *

The two teams for the mission to Castiana, dressed in their Hazmat suits and outfitted with all kinds of emergency equipment and spare oxygen, left at ten o'clock the next morning. They reported that the new filters seemed to be working well. One team would be remaining close to the gate, while the other one did a recon of the area. In that way, if the recon team got into trouble, the other team would be there to dial the gate for help.

The miniature helicopter had been sent through the gate to the team on Sahal, along with a lieutenant who had experience working with radio-controlled model airplanes and helicopters.

Daniel and Sam were not in the control room to watch all this going on. They were too busy stressing out about Jack's visit. Mitchell wasn't helping any in that regard, having made a couple of remarks at breakfast that the scientists didn't find the least bit amusing.

It was shortly before lunch when Jack arrived. He went to say hi to Landry first.

"So, are they expecting me?" he asked.

"Like prisoners on death row expecting the executioner."

"Well, I won't keep them waiting, then."

"Don't be too brutal."

Jack headed to Daniel's office. He found the archeologist at his desk, staring at a stone tablet.

"Hello, Daniel."

The younger man sighed softly and turned to him. "Jack."

"Carter's not here, I see."

"No, she's waiting for you to summon her."

"Ah. Well, how about if you and I have a private little chat first? We can get her involved later." Jack shut the door, then came forward. He grabbed a chair and wheeled it over. He straddled it, arms resting on the backrest. "So."

"So."

"You and Carter, huh."

"Yep."

"And what lunacy, may I ask, led to this? Something you inhaled perhaps?"

Daniel sighed again. "We were both of sound mine and body . . . sort of."

Jack's eyebrows lifted inquiringly. "Sort of?"

"It wasn't planned, Jack. It just . . . happened."

"And just kept right on happening?" Jack said snidely.

Daniel jumped out of his chair and walked around the desk. "What do you want me to say, Jack? A month ago, I'd never have expected this to happen. But it did happen, and, now, it's . . . it's come to mean something to me. She makes me feel good, Jack. For the first time in almost ten years, I actually have something in my life that makes me smile every day. I know you're not happy about this, but it makes _me_ happy. Maybe you don't care about that, but—"

"Hey," Jack interrupted, standing up. "I care, Daniel. You and I may have had our differences over the years, but I do care. You should know that."

Daniel's gaze dropped to the floor briefly, then returned to his friend. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"You're right that I'm not particularly pleased about this, but if it really does make you and Carter happy, then I'm not gonna be an ass about it and tell you to knock it off. But then, you wouldn't listen to me anyway if I did, and this would probably be the one time that Carter would disobey an order and tell me to go to hell."

Jack watched Daniel wander away to one of the bookshelves. "Do you love her?" he asked.

Daniel's whole body went stiff, tension coming off him like heat from a radiator.

"Love isn't . . . it's not about love," he said, his voice as tense as his body.

Jack frowned. "It's not? What is it about, then, Daniel? Sex?"

The archeologist spun around. "No! It's not just about sex. I care about Sam. She means a great deal to me. I-I just . . . I can't. . . ." Daniel's voice trailed off helplessly. He turned away again.

Though Jack never saw himself as the brightest guy in the world, he also wasn't stupid, despite the act he often put on.

"You can't let yourself love again," he guessed, knowing he was right.

"Please, Jack," Daniel pleaded. "Just drop it, okay?"

The grey-haired man gazed at his friend. "It's been seven years since she died, Daniel. When are you going to let Sha're go?"

Daniel closed his eyes. "I have let her go, Jack. It took a long, long time, but I finally let her go. I just can't ever go through that again. I can't." His breath caught. "It hurt . . . so much. I don't think I could take it if it ever happened again."

"And why are you so certain it would happen again?"

"I just . . . can't take that chance."

"So, you live the rest of your life keeping yourself locked away from loving someone? That's a pretty damn lonely way to live, Daniel. Take that from someone who knows. And what about Sam? Is it fair to her?"

"Sam's happy with the way things are between us."

"Are you sure about that?"

A trace of anger crept into Daniel's voice. "Well, I guess you'll just have to ask her, won't you."

"I'm not the one who should be doing the asking."

Daniel began getting defensive. "It's my life, Jack. Sam and I have something good together. We make each other happy. We make each other forget all the horrible things that are in our lives. On the trip back, ever since she and I got together, I barely thought about the Ori at all. Before then, not a day went by that I didn't think about them. Not a day went by that I didn't feel like. . . ." He shook his head and turned away again.

Jack recognized that he needed to back off, though there was more that he wanted to say.

"All right, Daniel." He headed for the door.

"Aren't you going to talk to Sam?" the archeologist asked.

"Maybe. I don't want to get her pissed off at me. I think about the science experiment things she could do to me, and it's damn scary."

That almost made Daniel smile.

Jack met the younger man's eyes. "I hope things work out well with you and Carter, Daniel. I really do mean that. Just remember one thing. Sometimes, the thing we hide from the most is the one thing we should let find us." 


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Sam was pacing. She had tried to get some work done, but she'd spent more time staring at the phone, expecting it to ring, than actually accomplishing anything. General O'Neill had arrived an hour ago, yet no call had come requesting her presence. Maybe the general had decided to make them suffer, keep them hanging on tenterhooks for a couple of hours. No, that didn't sound like something he'd do.

"Good afternoon, Carter," said a voice from the doorway.

Sam nearly went airborne. She spun around to stare at Jack.

"S-s-sir!" she stammered.

Jack came further into the room. "Relax, Carter. I'm not going to bite your head off."

"Yes, sir. I mean, no, sir."

"How about if we sit down," Jack suggested, pulling up a chair.

Feeling too wired to sit down, Sam, nevertheless, did as he requested.

"I had a chat with Daniel a while ago," Jack told her. "Interesting conversation."

"It was?" Sam almost squeaked. She cleared her throat. "It was?" she repeated in a more normal tone of voice.

"Uh huh. From what he tells me, I gathered that this thing between you two wasn't exactly started slow and easy."

Sam blushed, saying nothing.

"So, as your commanding officer, I have to ask if either of you considered the ramifications of this when it happened."

Sam's cheeks reddened even more. She avoided Jack's gaze. "Not . . . not the first time, sir."

"Ah. I see. And afterwards?"

"We, um . . . we realized that we'd made a mistake. We weren't . . . going to do it again."

Jack was starting to get a better picture of what happened. "I'm assuming that plan didn't quite work out the way you intended."

Sam's cheeks were now quite pink. "No, sir."

"Not surprising. Plan A almost _never_ works, in my experience. So, is Plan B working out well for you two?"

Sam swallowed. "Yes, sir."

"Well, that's good. Having to go to Plan C usually sucks, especially when there is no Plan C." Studying Sam's face, Jack decided to get serious. "Are you happy, Sam?" he asked gently.

She finally looked at him. "Yes, sir, I am. It's been . . . really great."

There was a long moment of silence, at the end of which Jack decided that it was finally time they talked about the one subject both of them had been avoiding for years.

"Carter, you and I have never talked about the . . . thing between us." He watched Sam's eyes drop again. "The truth of the matter is that I've done everything I can to avoid talking about it. A lot of time has passed since that whole Zatarc thing. A lot of stuff has happened since then, and, well. . . ."

"You don't have to say it, sir," Sam quickly interjected, lifting her head. "I already guessed that you don't feel that way anymore."

Jack looked into her eyes. "I still care, Carter. It's just no longer something that I . . . desire."

Sam nodded. "I do understand, sir, and it's fine."

Jack searched her eyes. "Is it?"

"Absolutely, sir."

"Good. That's good. And you have Daniel now, who, if I'm completely honest with myself, is way better for you than I'd ever have been."

Sam didn't say anything to that.

Jack decided to ask her the same question he'd asked Daniel. "Do you love him?"

Gone again was the eye contact. "I've always loved him as a friend, sir," Sam replied evasively.

"Not what I'm asking, Carter."

Sam began fidgeting. "That's . . . that's a really personal question, General."

"True, but it's also a simple one."

Sam was getting more uptight by the second. "I . . . I care about him deeply, sir. What we have means a lot to me. We make each other happy."

Jack stared at her narrowly. Crap. She was hiding from the 'L' word just as much as Daniel was. What a pair. He had to wonder if two people so afraid of love could really have a successful relationship. But then, he wasn't really one to talk. For the longest time after losing Charlie and Sara, he hadn't wanted to let himself love someone with his whole heart. But things were different now. He'd finally decided that it was time to really start living his life, to let love be a part of it.

Jack hoped that Sam and Daniel somehow managed to do the same thing, that they could find their way through this. They both deserved to have some lasting happiness in their lives.

* * *

By that afternoon, not much progress has been made on Castiana and Sahal. The teams on Castiana were slowly covering the area, but the murky, poisonous atmosphere was not making it easy. As for Sahal, the video feed from the remote-controlled helicopter revealed something that might be the remains of structures. The problem was that they were in a meadow that would take around two days to reach by foot.

Upon receiving the report from the team on Sahal, Landry told them to go ahead and head out to the meadow. Then he called Daniel to his office.

"You know, maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me that something as important as this weapon of Merlin's would be at least within a couple of hours' walk from the Stargate," the general remarked.

"No, you're right," Daniel agreed. "It wouldn't make sense for it to have been put someplace that would take days to reach." He shook his head. "We have to be missing something."

"Such as?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's . . . it's hidden. It would make sense. It wouldn't be left out in the open for anyone to find."

"Well, you're the expert on all things Ancient. And ideas on how we can find it?"

Daniel frowned in thought. "It's possible that something in Merlin's library in Camelot could give us an answer or at least provide some clues on where to look."

"So, you're suggesting that I send SG-1 back there."

"No, it wouldn't be necessary for all of us to go. There wouldn't be much the others could do. I can just go there. I could probably manage to do a quick read-through of everything there in a week or so. Of course, a more extensive search would take a lot longer."

Landry thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "All right. You can head out in the morning. Let's hope that you have more success than the teams have so far."

After leaving the general's office, Daniel went to Sam's lab. He told her about the trip.

"How long do you think you'll be gone?" she asked.

"That all depends. If I poured over every word, it would take several weeks. I'll just do a quick read-through first, which I figure will take around a week. Maybe I'll get lucky and find what I'm looking for right away."

Sam gave him a look. "And how often does _that_ happen?"

The archeologist sighed. "Not often." He met her eyes. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you, too. Too bad I would be of absolutely no help to you there." She smiled. "If I could have been of some help, you could take me along as your assistant."

"Yeah, I'm afraid Landry wouldn't buy that for a second." Daniel gave her a smile. "Would you like to come over to my place tonight? I'd go over to yours, but I've got to pack some things." He shook his head. "Now I wish I hadn't gone grocery shopping yesterday. A lot of it will keep, but some of it won't. I don't know why I even bother getting things that are perishable. It seems like half of it ends up in the trash."

"I can take what won't keep. There's no sense in throwing it away."

Daniel smiled again. "So, does that mean you're coming over?"

"You bet. This is the last night we're going to be able to be together for a while."

Sam arrived at Daniel's with Chinese take-out at 6:30. After the meal was finished, the two of them chatted as the archeologist packed the things he was going to be taking with him from home.

"So . . . how was your conversation with General O'Neill?" Sam asked after a few minutes.

Daniel paused in what he was doing. "Unpleasant, which is about what I was expecting, although I know he could have given me a lot harder time than he did. How about you?"

"Oh, I think it's a safe bet that you got the worst of it. I have to say, though, that it was definitely one of the most embarrassing conversations I've ever had. It's certainly not one I'd ever have pictured having with him."

"I bet." Daniel went silent for several seconds. "Sam, you're . . . you're happy with the way things are with us . . . aren't you?"

Sam stared at him. "Of course I'm happy, Daniel. I love what we have together. It's wonderful." She searched his face. "Why are you asking that? Did General O'Neill say something?"

Daniel turned back to his bag. He shook his head. "It's nothing. Forget I said anything. Jack just said something that's been on my mind a bit."

Sam stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Well, whatever it was that he said, just ignore it. I," she kissed his cheek, "am very," a kiss on his forehead, "very," a kiss on the other cheek, "_very_ happy with our relationship." She ended with a kiss on his lips. Daniel grabbed hold of her and drove his tongue deep into her mouth. He lifted her up, walked around to the side of the bed, and fell with her upon it, his hands going right away to the buttons of her blouse.

"What about your neighbors?" Sam asked, her breath hitching when he inserted his hand inside her bra.

Daniel lifted his head from the kisses he'd been placing on her neck and looked at her. "To hell with the neighbors."

By the time Daniel and Sam's lovemaking reached its end, there was no doubt that the neighbors knew exactly what was going on inside the archeologist's apartment. As the couple lay panting in the aftermath, Daniel let out a breathless chuckle.

"It's a good thing I'll be leaving for a few days. Otherwise, I could probably expect a few looks from the neighbors. Hopefully, Christine will stop hitting on me. I should imagine that Mrs. Cook across the hall is very unhappy. She's been trying for the past year to fix me up with her daughter. At least Bob Hoya will probably leave me alone now."

"Oh? Was he trying to fix you up, too?"

"Um . . . not exactly." Daniel's face colored. "He's gay, and, uh . . . didn't make it a secret that he likes me."

Sam tried very hard not to smile. "My, Daniel. I didn't realize that you were so . . . popular in your apartment building."

What the neighbors heard next was not the sounds of lovemaking, but, rather, Sam's shrieks of laughter as Daniel tickled her mercilessly.

* * *

Daniel took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes with a weary sigh. Seven days. He'd been here in Camelot for a full week, going through every book, every manuscript. And what had he found? Nothing. Oh, he'd learned plenty of interesting things, things that would probably have intrigued him at any other time, but what he _didn't_ learn was anything to do with the location of the Sangraal. Not even one clue resided in Merlin's library. Yes, he could go back through everything with a fine-toothed comb, analyze every word, pick apart every sentence, but, in this first search, he hadn't found even the smallest reference to the weapon or anything that could have to do with it. Would a more detailed search reveal something he failed to see the first time around? Daniel didn't think so.

The archeologist closed the book he'd been searching through, then closed his eyes, feeling defeated. Morgan had broken the rules of the Ancients, possibly sacrificing her existence as one of the Ascended in order to help them get the Sangraal, and they couldn't even find it. If something had been found on Castiana or Sahal, Daniel would have been contacted, so he could only assume that the teams had come up empty.

Did Morgan lie? For what reason? To lead them astray, to make them waste valuable time? No, that made no sense. Why deliberately sabotage their efforts to beat the Ori? No, there still had to be something they were missing. If Merlin's weapon was hidden, one of the search teams could have been within a few yards of it and not have known.

Daniel thought about what Morgan said just before the Others snatched her away. "Merlin's weapon is not—"

Wait a minute. Merlin's weapon is not what? If she was going to name the planet the weapon was on, she wouldn't have said "is not". She'd have said "is _on_". Why didn't he think of this before?

So, what did this mean? What was Morgan going to say?

"Merlin's weapon is not on either planet."

Daniel spoke the words aloud, wondering if they were true. But if it wasn't on either Castiana or Sahal, then where was it? He dearly hoped that it wasn't on Vagon Brei, and they'd missed it. They could never go back to that planet, a land of the dead where virtually every living thing had become victims of a microscopic parasite that put you to sleep . . . never to wake up again.

Daniel got to his feet and grabbed his jacket. There was no point in staying here any longer. He was ready to go home. He missed Sam, even more than he had thought he would. And it was a lot more than just the sex and company in his bed that he missed. He missed _her_, just seeing her, being with her, hearing her voice, seeing her smile. There was a time when he could have gone a week without seeing Sam and not thought much about it, but not anymore.

As he walked through the village, Meurik approached him.

"Did you find what you seek?" the village leader asked.

"Unfortunately no. I suppose there isn't some other place that Merlin did research or kept documents."

"No, the place you left is all that remains of Merlin's time here."

Daniel sighed. "Yeah, that's what I figured."

Meurik gazed at him. "I hope that you will find success in your quest, Daniel."

"So do I, Meurik. The lives of countless billions of people depend on it."

The look on Daniel's face when he existed the wormhole told General Landry that the archeologist hadn't found anything. At the debriefing an hour later, he confirmed it.

"So, what next?" Vala asked.

"Right now, I have no idea," Daniel replied. "The fact is that we really don't know what Morgan was going to tell us. She was taken away by the Others too soon. Those three planets _must_ have something to do with the Sangraal, and it might still be that it's hidden somewhere on one of them, but I have no clue on how to find it."

"So, we're back to square one," Cameron stated with a frown.

"Not entirely. We know a lot more now than we did before we went to the Pegasus galaxy."

"Yeah, well, let's just hope that Baal doesn't find that weapon before we do."

Daniel stared at him. "Baal?"

"Oh, I guess you haven't heard about the bit of excitement we had here while you were gone."

Daniel was filled in on the events that happened while he was off-world. The news alarmed him.

"If he finds the Sangraal before we do, he'll use it not only to wipe out the Ori, but all the Ascended as well," he said.

"Would that really be all that bad?" Vala asked. Everyone stared at her. "It's not like they've been all that helpful so far."

"If it wasn't for the Ascended, Earth would have been decimated by the Ancient plague," Daniel informed her. "Though it's true that they haven't helped much, they haven't been completely passive, or at least some of them haven't. According to Morgan, there are a number of Ascended who want to help, but they can't because they're in the minority, and there's not enough of them to defy the rest. But that could change."

"Well, until you come up with something new, I'm putting SG-1 back on the mission roster," Landry said. "We're having a tough time keeping up with all the planets that the Oris' followers have visited."

When Daniel's doorbell rang that evening, he knew it was Sam. He let her in silently, and they went to the couch.

"I saw the look on your face at the debriefing," Sam said. She took his hand. "Don't give up hope, Daniel. We'll find the Sangraal somehow."

"How, Sam? I'm fresh out of ideas or stunning revelations, and, now, we're in a race against Baal." He saw the way she was looking at him and sighed. "No, you're right. I'm not giving up hope. I'm just frustrated. I feel like I'm letting Morgan down," his voice dropped, "letting _everyone_ down."

"Hey. You're not letting anyone down. No one expects you to perform miracles, Daniel. You'll find the answer. It's just going to take more time."

_'Time during which more people will die or be enslaved,'_ Daniel responded voicelessly.

Sam spent the night, the two of them just holding each other, Daniel taking comfort from Sam's presence.

Over the next week, SG-1 went on three missions, most of them having something to do with the Ori. Whenever they weren't on a mission, Daniel continued his search of information about the Sangraal and the three planets. He was looking through the pages of a book when a thought suddenly occurred to him. He immediately went to see Landry.

"I need to go to England," he announced.

Landry stared in silence at him for a few seconds. "For what reason?"

"Well, for one, that's where we found the hidden chamber with the communications device. Secondly, England is where Merlin spent his time on Earth after he descended. It's possible that there are clues to the Sangraal buried in some library or collection somewhere."

"And how would you even begin to find it?"

"I have some contacts there, historians, collectors in artifacts and old books and manuscripts from the period in time that Merlin would have been on Earth. It's worth a try."

The general nodded after a moment. "All right. You're scheduled for a mission tomorrow. You can leave the next day. Let's hope that this trip is more fruitful than the last one."

* * *

"England, huh?" Cameron said the next morning as they waited for the gate to dial up. "I've always wanted to go there, try the cuisine, check out the sights, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, London Bridge."

"Tower Bridge," Daniel corrected.

"What?"

"You're probably thinking of Tower Bridge. A lot of people get the two confused. The historic London Bridge isn't even in England anymore. It was dismantled and reassembled in Lake Havasu City, Arizona."

Vala looked at him. "They took the whole bridge apart, moved it thousands of miles, then put it back together?"

"Yep. Well, sort of. The frame of the bridge in Arizona is new. They used the stones from London Bridge as cladding, covering the outside."

"Why do that?"

"Tourist attraction."

The wormhole opened with its usual kawoosh, and SG-1 went through as Vala looked on, wishing again that she was going with them.

She would have changed her mind fifteen minutes later.

"You know, I wish someone had told us that these people don't like visitors!" Cam yelled as he returned fire at a large group of the planet's inhabitants who were attacking them. He aimed low, kicking up dirt and rocks, hoping that it would scare the attackers off. It didn't work.

"If these people have completely bought into the belief that the Ori are gods, they might be attacking because they know we're enemies of the Ori," Daniel shouted back.

"We're not going to be able to hold this position much longer," Sam said from behind a boulder a few yards away. "We need to make a run for the gate!"

In the next instant, Daniel watched in horror as a shot from one of the attackers' weapons struck her. She crumpled into a heap and lay still.

"Sam!" Daniel screamed.

With fear and anguish burning inside him, Daniel turned back to the natives, taking down three of them with his sidearm. His mind was screaming at him to go to Sam, but it would be impossible for him get across the distance separating them without getting hit, too.

Cameron looked at the woman lying unmoving on the ground, then at the man who was her lover, seeing the raw emotions on Daniel's face. They had to get out of here now.

"We're getting out of here!" he yelled as he got a grenade from his belt. He pulled the pin and threw it with all his might into the midst of the natives. It exploded with a horrendous roar. Daniel was instantly on his feet and running toward Sam.

He never made it.

* * *

Sights and sounds slowly filtered into Daniel's awareness. He cracked his eyes open. He was in some kind of hut . . . and he was not alone. An armed native was watching him from a few yards away.

Upon seeing that the prisoner was awake, the man went to the door, opened it, and talked to someone outside.

As this was going on, Daniel had discovered quite painfully that he had been wounded. He didn't think it was serious, but it sure hurt like hell. Right now, though, his own physical condition was of far less importance to him than the fate of his teammates. Were they okay? Was Sam okay?

Another man came into the hut. Daniel slowly sat up, ignoring the protests in his damaged shoulder. He looked up at the guy who was glaring down at him.

"Where are my friends, the people who came through the Stargate with me?"

"I will ask the questions," the man snapped. "You have no right to ask anything. Your demon priest comes to our world and threatens that if we do not submit, we will all die, and, now, you come. Were you to be the assassins?"

"What? God, no! You have it all wrong! We're not with the Ori. In fact, we're fighting against them."

The man frowned. "So you say."

"It's the truth! We came here because we'd heard that a Prior may have visited, and we wanted to see if it was true and what was happening with your people. Please, you have to believe me. We're on your side."

"The words you speak may only be lies uttered to save your life."

Daniel shook his head. "Just . . . just let us go back to the Stargate and talk to our people on our planet. They'll confirm what I'm telling you."

"More likely you will warn your masters so that they can send more killers through."

Daniel was getting frustrated. He didn't know what to say to convince this man that he was telling the truth.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"I am Nonan."

"I'm Daniel. I'm not your enemy, Nonan. _We're_ not your enemy. Please. Just let me see my companions, and we can all talk with you together."

"That will not be possible."

"Why not."

"Because they are all dead."

_'No. Oh, God, no.' _

Grief, terrible and absolute, crashed down upon Daniel. He didn't even notice when the two men left a moment later. They were all dead. Sam was dead.

A sob caught in Daniel's throat, then spilled out as the anguish overwhelmed him and dragged him down into a bottomless pit. The minutes passed as he cried, feeling like the better part of him had died along with his friends and the woman who had come to mean more to him than anyone else had in seven long years.

Huddled in the corner on his cot, Daniel paid no attention to the woman who brought in some food. He didn't care when the hut began to grow dark as the sun set. By now, Landry must have tried to contact them and was probably wondering what happened. Would he send another team through? More innocent people to die at the hands of men who refused to listen to the truth? If Daniel could talk to Landry, he'd tell the man not to send anyone through on a rescue mission, to just leave Daniel to his fate, whatever that fate might be. He didn't care. If he was to die, too, at least it would end this unbearable pain inside him.

Daniel didn't know how much time had passed when Nonan came back in, along with a guard.

"Come with me," the man said.

The archeologist lifted a tear-stained face to him. "Are you going to kill me now, too?" he asked in a dull, lifeless voice.

His question was not answered. The guard helped him to his feet, and he was taken outside. They went to a larger structure. Daniel was left alone in a room with several chairs and a table. He lowered himself into one of the chairs and stared at the floor, waiting to see what was going to be done with him.

He had been there for around ten minute when the door opened. Not really caring, he didn't look to see who it was.

"Daniel?" said a trembling voice.

Daniel's head shot up. He gasped at the sight before him. It was Teal'c, Mitchell . . . and Sam.

"Oh, God. Sam," Daniel choked out. Then he was on his feet and across the room, pulling her into his arms, not caring about the pain the movement caused in his shoulder.

"They told me you were all dead," he whispered against her hair.

"They told me the same thing," she responded.

"That's what they told all of us, apparently," Cameron said.

Daniel pulled back and cupped Sam's face with the hand of his good arm. Now that he was really looking, he could see the evidence that she had been crying.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You got hit."

Sam nodded. "I'm all right. They have a sarcophagus, Daniel. They put me in it." She finally became aware of his injury. "Your shoulder!" she cried, grasping his arm.

"It's not bad."

"You will be healed as well," said Nonan.

The archeologist turned to him. "Why did you do this? Why did you tell each of us that our friends were dead?"

"Grief says much about a man. As each of you grieved, we watched you. This one," he pointed at Teal'c, "grieved in the manner of a warrior, which did not tell us if his heart was good or evil." He gestured at Cameron. "That one shed no tears, but the pain could be seen by all on his face. The woman did cry, the tears of the heartbroken, but the tears of women are as common as flowers in the spring."

Sam wasn't pleased by that statement and was all set to utter a few scathing remarks, but she didn't get a chance.

The man turned to Daniel. "It was your tears that convinced us that you had spoken the truth. You grieved as a man who had lost all that he loved in life."

Daniel looked at Sam, meeting her eyes for a brief, intense moment.

Nonan continued speaking. "Yet, even in the depth of your grief, we saw no anger or hatred in you, though you had good reason to hate." He bowed his head, eyes cast downward. "I and my people give apologies for attacking you. We know now that it was a mistake."

Daniel decided it wouldn't be wise to point out to the man that even mass murderers were capable of loving someone and feeling grief.

SG-1 was taken to another room. At its center sat a sarcophagus.

"Where did you get it?" Daniel asked.

"Many centuries ago, my people were enslaved by an evil being who claimed to be a god. One day, he ceased coming our world. All that he left behind was eventually destroyed by the people except for this box, which they knew could heal the sick and injured and even bring the dead back to life. All those who were injured or killed in the battle with you have been healed. Now, it is your turn."

Daniel stared at the sarcophagus nervously. The last time he was in one, he'd ended up addicted to it. Though he knew that using one a single time to repair an injury would not cause addiction, he had fervently hoped that he'd never have to see the inside of a sarcophagus again.

Nonan apparently noticed his reluctance. "Is there a problem?"

"Um . . . let's just say that my last experience with one of these things was not very pleasant. You know, this wound really isn't all that bad. We have excellent doctors back home who can fix me up just fine."

Nonan frowned. "You do not wish us to heal you?"

"Using the sarcophagus on this occasion would not cause your addiction to recur, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said.

"Yeah, I know. I just, um, really would rather avoid ever getting into one of those things again." He slowly lifted his injured arm. "See? It's not bad at all."

As he rotated the shoulder, agonizing pain lanced down his entire arm. He gasped out a cry, his face going white. Teal'c was at his side in an instant, grasping his good arm to steady him.

"Okay, so I guess I spoke too soon," Daniel panted.

"Okay, that's it," said Cameron. "I know you don't like those things, Jackson, but you can't afford to be laid up for weeks as that shoulder heals. Just get in the thing and get it over with."

"He's right, Daniel," Sam agreed. "There could be nerve damage."

With a sigh, the archeologist reluctantly agreed. Trying not to tense up, he got into the sarcophagus and laid down. He shut his eyes tightly as the lid slowly closed, his heart rate and respiration rising in spite of his attempt to remain calm. Then his mind drifted away as the device put him to sleep.

Consciousness returned a few minutes later. The second the lid was far enough open, Daniel was out of the sarcophagus, quickly putting several yards between him and it. He palpated and moved his shoulder about, not surprised that it was completely healed.

Cameron turned to Nonan. "Okay, if it's all the same to you, we'd like to have our stuff returned to us and get on back home. Our boss is probably getting ready to send people through to come looking for us."

All of their things were returned to them, except for their weapons, which were carried by Nonan and the three other men who accompanied the team to the gate. Apparently, the trust these people now had in them had its limits.

When they got to the gate, they saw that a MALP had been sent through, most likely to take a look at what was going on.

Their weapons were given back to them, and Daniel dialed the gate. As soon as the wormhole connected, Cameron got on the radio.

"Colonel Mitchell," said Landry. "I was just about to send a couple teams through to go looking for you. Care to tell me what's going on?"

"We ran into a bit of trouble, sir. It's been straightened out. We'll be coming through in a couple minutes. I'm sending the MALP back through now."

Daniel turned to the natives. "I know this is probably not something you want to hear, Nonan, but you can't fight the Ori. The Prior who came here has the power to kill every one of you, and the Ori have spaceships that could decimate this planet. If you fight them, you'll all die."

Nonan's spine straightened, his chin lifting. "Our people were enslaved once. We will not be so again."

"Hear me, Nonan," Teal'c said. "My race has known the bitter taste of slavery. We fought long and hard to gain our freedom, and many of us died in the battle. But if you fight, you shall all die. To fight when there is no hope of victory is not wise."

"Teal'c's right," Cameron said. "It isn't going to do you any good to put up a fight when all it's going accomplish is getting your entire population wiped out."

"Just . . . just pretend to submit, Nonan," Daniel told the man. "It won't be forever. We're trying to find a way to get rid of the Ori. We're not going to give up until we succeed."

Nonan said nothing for a moment. "I will think on your words."

Knowing that was as much as they were going to get, the teammates turned away and walked through the gate. 


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Daniel stared at the computer screen that was supposed to contain his mission report, but, instead, showed nothing but a cursor blinking at him annoyingly.

His gaze drifted away from the screen as his mind yet again returned to the reason why the report wasn't written yet. When Sha're died, it had hurt more than anything Daniel had suffered since the death of his parents. He had been sure that nothing could ever hurt more. He'd been wrong. When he thought that Sam was dead, the pain was beyond anything he could have imagined. During those hours he sat in that hut, he didn't care what happened to him, whether he lived or died.

Daniel knew what this meant. He couldn't escape the knowledge, no matter how much he might want to. He had fallen in love with Sam, with his whole heart and soul.

And, now, he was terrified. Today had shown him how deeply it would hurt if something ever happened to her, and he didn't think he'd be able to handle going through that kind of pain. It would kill him inside.

Daniel rested his head in his hands. He had fought so hard to keep himself from loving again, to keep his heart safe behind the walls. He should have known that becoming Sam's lover was too dangerous, that being with her like that was bound to lead to this. He now realized that he started falling in love with her after the very first time they made love, when he woke up with her in his arms. He hadn't wanted to see it, so he blinded himself to what was right before his face.

So, what was he going to do now?

Deciding that it was pointless to keep trying to write his report this evening, Daniel left his office and went to the locker room. After changing into his civilian clothes, he went back to the elevator. His finger paused over the button that would carry him up toward the surface. For several seconds, he stood there, undecided, before finally pressing the button for Level 19.

Daniel stood outside Sam's lab for still more seconds before covering the last few feet and going in. The astrophysicist was sitting at her worktable, frowning at her computer.

"Um . . . hi," he said, feeling uncomfortable and knowing that he shouldn't feel that way.

Sam turned to him, an unreadable expression flashing over her face before it settled into a look of cheerfulness.

"Hey. Are you heading home?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty tired. It was a . . . rough day."

Sam's eyes fell from his for a moment. "Yeah." Her gaze returned to his. "Are you still leaving tomorrow?"

Daniel nodded. "I have an evening flight. It's a good thing I don't have a problem sleeping on planes."

"Lucky you. That's always a problem for me."

They fell into a short silence.

"Well . . . I just wanted to wish you a good night," Daniel finally said. "I'll be going to bed early tonight. See you tomorrow."

"Okay. Good night."

Sam watched Daniel leave, an ache inside her chest. If it hadn't been for what happened today, it was likely that she'd have joined him at his place since, yet again, she wouldn't be seeing him for a while. But she couldn't do that, not now, not after the revelation she'd made, a revelation that was not a happy one.

She was in love with Daniel. There could be no denying it. When she thought he was dead, the pain had just about killed her, a hundred times worse than when he ascended.

God, she had been so stupid. She should have known that she was playing with fire by entering into this relationship with him. She should have known that he would get right past her defenses and deep into her heart, deeper than anyone else ever had. Best friends with benefits? What a crock of bull. She was already falling in love with him way back then when she reasoned that their relationship could remain just that.

And now what? What was she going to do? She had learned today what it would feel like to lose Daniel, and it was something she never wanted to go through. But with the danger they faced almost every day in their job, how could she protect herself from it?

There really was only one way. She had to insulate herself from Daniel. She had to distance herself from him and try to drive these feelings out of her heart. If they were no longer lovers, in time, the feelings might fade and go away, just as her feelings for Jack did.

The thought of never being with Daniel again, never feeling his arms around her at night, no longer having the joy of his kisses and lovemaking, hurt so much that Sam had to struggle not to start crying. She brushed away the tears that sprang to her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. She had to do this. She _had_ to. If she didn't, the overpowering fear of losing him would never ease.

Giving up on her plan to write her mission report, Sam went home, wondering how she was going to end a relationship that had come to be the most precious and important thing in her life.

* * *

Daniel stared into the darkness beyond the airplane window. He was relieved to have an excuse to get away. As long as he was in England, he wouldn't have to think about the situation with Sam. As long as he was there, he could delay doing the thing he'd decided last night that he had to do. He had to break things off with Sam. Just the thought of doing it made him feel like someone was slicing up his heart, but he had no choice. It was the only way that he could drive this love for her out of him. To actually embrace that love and let the relationship continue was out of the question. He could not chance loving her and losing her. He'd gone through that once before. Never again.

But how was he going to do it? How could he look in her eyes and tell her it was over? It was going to break his heart.

Even knowing what he did, he had wanted her there with him last night. He had missed having her in his arms, her warm, soft body next to his.

He was never going to have that again.

The sudden thought made a terrible, aching pain well up inside him. Having Sam like that in his life had come to mean so much to him, something he had never wanted to live without. But he needed to learn to live without it. And he could. It might take a long time, but the day would come when he didn't long to hold her, when the first thought that came into his mind upon awakening was not about her. Being her teammate was going to make it a lot harder. Transferring to another team would definitely help, but he was not prepared to do that. The fight against the Ori was too important, and being on SG-1 was where he could do the most good.

But what about afterwards? What if they succeeded in finding the Sangraal, destroyed the Ori, and got rid of all their followers in this galaxy? If, by that time, Daniel had not gotten past these feelings for Sam, he knew what he would do. He'd request a transfer to Atlantis. In fact, he might do that anyway. It would make things so much easier on both him and Sam. With the distance of millions of light-years between them, he could have a life in which he didn't have to look at her almost every day and think about what they no longer had.

* * *

Cameron plopped down on the couch. Well, _that_ vacation sure didn't turn out like expected. But then, who could have foreseen that a simple trip to the woods right here on Earth would turn into a hunt for murderous, mutant monsters? Poor Jackson. He missed out on all the fun . . . again.

Thoughts of Daniel naturally led to ones of Sam. Cameron didn't know what was up with her, but something was definitely off. After all the nasty business was over, Landry had insisted that they stick to the plan of a few days of relaxation in General O'Neill's cabin, and all during the time they were there, Sam had barely cracked a smile. At first, Cam had thought that it was because she was missing Daniel, but he was now convinced that wasn't the problem. Something was wrong.

The pilot thought about the look on Sam's face on their last mission when she saw him and Teal'c and found out that Nonan had lied about her teammates all being dead. The first words out of her mouth had been, "Daniel! Where's Daniel?" When Nonan replied that he would take them to the archeologist, it was pretty obvious that she wanted to run the whole way.

Also quite obvious was the fact that Sam was utterly in love with Daniel . . . and that the feeling was mutual. So why were Cam's instincts telling him that something wasn't right between them?

Cameron glanced at his watch, then picked up the phone.

"Hey, Sam," he said when the call was answered. "I was wondering if we could get together for a little dinner. I could definitely go for some pizza after those days of Landry's cooking. Thank God he let us do the cooking on occasion."

"Um . . . I'd like to, Cam, but I've got stuff here at home that I need to take care of."

"And it can't wait one day? Come on, Sam. I hate going out to eat alone, and I don't have a thing in the house that is even remotely appetizing."

There was a long pause, then a quiet sigh. "All right. I'll meet you there. Angelo's?"

"Of course. Best pizza in town. See you in a few."

Half an hour later, they were sitting at a table, Cameron taking a hearty bite out of a thick slice of deep dish pizza. Sam's bite into her piece was anything but hearty. The pilot watched her as he chewed, formulating the best way to broach the subject that was the reason for his insistence on this dinner. Seeing her pick at the toppings on her pizza, he decided that the direct approach would be the best.

"So, what's up with you, Sam?"

Startled, she looked at him. "Up with me? Nothing. Why do you think something's up?"

"Oh, maybe because you've barely smiled in days. In fact, thinking about it, I haven't seen you really smile since we got back from that last mission."

Sam's gaze instantly dropped from his. She picked up her water and took a sip.

"Did you and Daniel have a fight?" Cameron asked.

"What? No, of course not."

"Then what's wrong. Whatever it is, it has to do with him, doesn't it."

"I don't want to talk about it." Sam glared at him narrowly. "Is this why you wanted to go to dinner with me? So you could grill me?"

Cam thought about lying, but he knew that would get him into even more trouble than he'd just realized he was in.

Sam's expression darkened, a spark of anger kindling in her eyes. "I don't believe this." She got up and stormed off.

"Dammit," Cam cursed. "Great going, Mitchell. You really did it this time."

He got up and took off after her, hastily telling the girl at the cash register that he'd be right back. Sam was already halfway to her car by the time he caught her.

"Hey. I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have invited you to dinner under false pretenses. I'm just concerned. I could tell that you were unhappy about something, and I wanted to help. I should have just come right out and asked instead of doing this."

Sam's anger began to cool. She wasn't happy about what Cam did, but she recognized that he was just trying to be a friend.

Seeing her softening, Cam gave her a smile. "How about if we go back in and finish that pizza before the manager calls the cops on us for skipping out on our bill?"

Sam shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I'm just not up to being sociable."

"Then how about if we have them box up the pizza, and we take it back to your place? Then you don't have to be sociable. We can both just sit and eat our pizza in utter and complete silence as we watch spiders make webs in the corners."

That almost made Sam smile. She really didn't want any company, but Cam obviously wasn't going to give up easily.

She let out a sigh. "All right."

They went back inside, and Cameron got a box for the pizza. A short while later, they were at Sam's . . . eating in utter and complete silence. The spiders were not fulfilling their end of the bargain.

Cam kept to his word and didn't utter a single syllable throughout the meal. He waited until afterwards.

"So, are you going to tell me?" he asked.

Sam looked at him. "You don't give up, do you."

"Nope. It's a required character trait for all members of SG-1. Of course, Jackson's the king of the hill in that regard. The guy doesn't even give up when he's dead!" Cameron saw the shadow that flitted across her face upon the mention of Daniel's name. He leaned forward. "Come on, Sam. Tell me what's wrong."

"It's personal."

"Well, yeah. I already figured that one out for myself."

Sam got to her feet and went to the fireplace. She stared at the unlit logs.

"I guess you're going to have to know sooner or later anyway," she said wearily. "I'm . . . I'm breaking things off with Daniel."

Cameron sat in complete shock, wondering if he'd somehow gotten transported to another reality.

"Sam, you can't be serious! I've never seen you happier than you have been during this time you guys have been together. And I'd have to be blind not to see that you're totally in love with him."

"That's the problem," Sam whispered.

Cam frowned. "What? What does _that_ mean?"

Sam shook her head, fighting not to cry. "Please, Cam. I just can't talk about it."

The pilot heard the tremor in her voice and knew that she was about ready to lose control. He got to his feet and went to her.

"Sam, I don't know what the problem is, but I have to believe it's something that you and Daniel can work out. Life doesn't give us many chances at real love, so we shouldn't throw it away when it comes along."

Knowing that she wasn't going to say anything more, Cam gave a sigh and headed for the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sam."

After he had gone, Sam went to the sofa and slowly sat down. Then she lowered her face into her hands and cried.

* * *

Daniel shut the door with a tired sigh. Another wasted trip. All the days he spent in England had been for nothing. He knew nothing more about Merlin's weapon than he did when he boarded the flight out.

Even though the search had been fruitless, Daniel wished that he was still there. Tomorrow, he would go back to work and see Sam. He would no longer be able to put off trying to figure out how he was going to break up with her. He wouldn't have much time to decide. Sam would probably want to be with him tomorrow night. He could beg off because of jet lag, but that would only work for one night.

He wished that they had a mission, one that would last for several days. But that would just be postponing what had to be done. Maybe it was better just to do it quickly and get it over with, like pulling off a band-aid. He could then ask for some time off, maybe two or three days to give him and Sam a little time to deal with the breakup. He honestly didn't think he'd be able to even look at her after he'd. . . .

Dammit! He'd thought that he had reconciled himself to this, come to terms with his decision. But the thought of what he was going to do still hurt as much as when he first decided to do it.

Throughout his life, it had been necessary for Daniel to do a lot of hard things, make a lot of tough decisions. That was especially true in these years since he opened the Stargate. But he knew that what he had to do now was going to be one of the hardest things of all.

* * *

Sam paced the floor, her eyes going often to the clock. This afternoon, Daniel had asked if he could come over tonight to talk about something. There was something off about his manner. He seemed to be having a hard time meeting her eyes.

Actually, it had been a strange day all around. After so many days of being apart, she had expected a big hug and a kiss, utterances of how much Daniel missed her. She did get a hug, but it was a short one, and there was no kiss nor any, "I missed you." She knew that he was feeling down about his lack of success in England, but his demeanor was still puzzling.

Not that she was disappointed. She'd had a lot of conflicting emotions over seeing Daniel. On one hand, she had really missed him while he was gone and was looking forward to seeing him. On the other hand, she had been dreading the physical contact, the expressions of affection, knowing that it would make her feel even worse over what she was going to do. How was she going to break Daniel's heart by telling him it was over? How was she going to hurt him like that? It was going to break her heart, too.

The sound of the doorbell ringing made Sam freeze in her tracks. Her heart started hammering.

_'God, I can't do this. I can't do this,'_ her mind cried.

_'You **have** to do this,'_ it then said.

Reluctantly, Sam went to the door and opened it.

"Hi," Daniel said, wanting to turn right around and run away. He was trembling on the inside, the ache in his chest growing steadily worse. He honestly didn't know how he was going to get through this without breaking down.

Daniel walked into the living room, desperately seeking the courage and strength to say what he came here for.

"Would . . . would you like something to drink?" Sam asked in a voice that was pitched a little too high.

"No, I'm good."

Daniel turned to her, seeing that she was staring at him with an expression that almost looked like dread. Did she already know what he was going to say?

He had thought of all different ways that he could do this, different things he could say, everything from vague excuses to outright lies. But he couldn't lie, not to her. Standing there now, seeing her before him, the woman he loved, he knew that there was only one way he could do this: tell her the complete truth.

"Sam, I. . . ." He stopped, took a deep breath, and began again. "When Sha're died, it hurt so much. For the longest time, I didn't know if I'd ever completely get over the pain. In the years that followed, I made a decision. I swore that I would never let myself love anyone like that again. If I never loved again, I would never have to go through that kind of pain again. For almost seven years I succeeded in keeping that oath. But then . . . but then that night on Atlantis happened."

Sam turned her face away, her eyes closing. Oh, God. He was going to tell her that he loved her. She couldn't hear those words from him, then tell him that it was over. She just couldn't. She had to stop him before he said it.

"You have no idea how hard it is for me to tell you this," Daniel told her in an agonized voice, "but you have to know the reason why I'm doing what I came here to do."

That statement made the words on Sam's lips dry up. She stared at him in puzzlement. What was he going to do?

"When we began this relationship, I knew that I couldn't let myself get too close to you," he said. "I had to . . . to keep a barrier between you and my heart. I couldn't let you come to mean too much to me."

Sam was stunned to hear Daniel say the very thing that she had told herself when they embarked on this relationship.

"But I failed," he whispered. "Being with you like that, it has been so . . . so wonderful. It has given me something that brought happiness into my life almost every day. But I blinded myself to how important it was to me, how important _you_ were to me."

He was crying now, and so was Sam.

Daniel's breath caught. "When I thought you were dead, the pain was more than I could take. It felt like it was killing me. A part of me wanted to die, too."

Sam's breath caught on a sob. She felt like her heart was going to explode.

Daniel's tear-filled eyes met hers. "I love you, Sam, more than I've ever loved anyone in my life, but I can't . . ." his voice caught, "I can't go through what I did with Sha're again. If I ever lost you, I don't know how I'd survive it." His voice began to tremble. "I can't let our relationship continue. As long as we're together, I know that I'll just keep loving you more and more and that if I ever lost you, it would destroy me."

Sam sat down rather hard, shocked speechless. She had been intending to break things off with Daniel because she cared too much, and here he was doing exactly the same thing.

Daniel misinterpreted Sam's reaction. "God, Sam. I'm so sorry. I can't tell you how much this is hurting me. I don't want to lose what we have, but—"

"It's come to mean too much," Sam interrupted. She looked up at him. "I know what you're saying, Daniel, and I understand what you're feeling, because . . . because I feel the same way."

That made Daniel's mouth drop open.

"Tonight, _I_ was intending to break up with _you_," Sam confessed, "and for the same reason."

This time, it was Daniel who sat down abruptly.

"When Nonan told me that you, Teal'c and Cam were dead, what I felt was the same thing you described," she told him. "I have never hurt that much in my life. I've been afraid, too, Daniel. I was afraid to let myself love someone. Too many times when I cared like that for a man, it ended badly. I lost Narim. I lost Martouf. I lost Orlin before I even had a chance to figure out if what I was feeling could really be something. And there were guys before then, Jonas, boyfriends in school, so many times when I came to really care about someone, and then ended up alone and hurting. I became convinced that the only thing for me to do was to never get into a relationship again. It was the only way I could protect myself from being hurt."

"But . . . but what about Pete?"

Sam sighed softly. "It was a mistake. I got into the relationship with him because I was so lonely, and I needed someone to fill the void in my life. I know now that it was more about that and . . . and other things than it was about Pete himself." She couldn't tell Daniel the whole truth, that one of the reasons for dating Pete was Jack. "I should have known right from the start that what I was basing the relationship on was all wrong. I did care about him, very much. But I was having a real problem with committing to him all the way, even though we got engaged and were planning our wedding. I tried really hard to. I told myself that I was going to marry him and have a happy, fulfilling life with him. But I was just lying to myself." She paused. "Dad knew. He could see right past the lies I was telling myself. Before he died, he tried to make me come to my senses. In a way, it worked. Afterwards, I knew that I couldn't marry Pete. My heart just wouldn't let me. And so I lost another man I cared about, except that it was my own fault that time. But it still hurt. After that, I swore off men. I wasn't going to let myself go through that again."

Sam looked into Daniel's eyes. "And then this thing with you happened. You know what I thought? That we could just be best friends with benefits." She gave a humorless laugh and shook her head. "I was so stupid. I should have known that I wouldn't be able to stop myself from falling in love with you. And, now . . . now I am so scared. I don't think I could bear losing you when I love you so much."

Daniel slowly absorbed what Sam had just told him. Everything he'd felt – the fear of love, the pain of loss – she had felt, too. All his thoughts about not letting himself care too much were the same thoughts she'd been having. They were like mirror images of each other.

The archeologist felt his burden lifting. Sam wanted the same thing he did. He didn't have to break her heart.

"We're a real pair, aren't we," she said with a weak smile.

Daniel drew in a deep breath. "Yeah, I guess we are."

Sam's smile was gone. "It's . . . it's going to be okay. We'll be all right. We were just friends for over nine years. We can be that way again."

Daniel gazed into her eyes, praying that she was right.

He got to his feet. "I, um, should go."

Sam nodded. She went with him to the door. As he opened it, he turned to look at her, the pain he was trying to hide darkening his eyes. He brushed his fingers over her cheek one last time. The touch almost made Sam cry. And then Daniel walked out the door, trying to ignore the hollow feeling inside him over the knowledge that the only real joy in his life had come to an end. 


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

Something had to be done. That was the thought running though Cam's mind as he watched Daniel and Sam. They were returning from a mission that had pretty much been a waste of time. It was the fourth mission since the couple broke up with each other. Or at least he was pretty sure they'd broken up. Nothing else would explain the perpetual gloom they were both in. On the surface, they seemed to get along well. There was no friction between them. They talked, worked side by side. They still sometimes ate meals together in the commissary with him, Teal'c and Vala. But every trace of their previous happiness was gone. Daniel had refused every invitation to play basketball, and both of them had refused every invitation to go out to eat. They came to work, did their job, and went home. Actually, from what Cameron could see, the going home part wasn't happening very often. Both scientists were putting in an awful lot of hours working.

The pilot was not the only one to see what was going on. Teal'c and Vala would have had to be blind not to see it . . . and not to figure out the reason. Despite her past jealousy, Vala did not like seeing an end to happy Daniel, hated the sorrow she'd spotted in his eyes many times in the past two weeks. She cared about him, and it bothered her to see him hurting so much. She had to wonder what happened. What had made Daniel and Sam break up when they'd seemed so happy together?

As for Teal'c, he was thoroughly displeased. He did not know the reason for the end of the relationship between Sam and Daniel, but he doubted it was a good reason. Their love for each other was plain to see, as was their misery over no longer being lovers. It was clear that they were both making a heroic effort to put things back to the way it was before their romantic relationship began, but Teal'c did not believe that a love such as they had found could ever truly be banished. To this day, even though he had been married for all those years to Drey'auc and had later found love with Ishta, the feelings he had for the greatest love of his life, his beloved Shan'auc, still dwelled within his heart.

After the debriefing – which Vala, as usual, sat in on – Cam turned to the others while they all waited for the elevator.

"Hey, that new buffet restaurant opened yesterday. How about if we all go pig out on all-you-can-eat?" The response he got was exactly what he expected.

"Sorry, but I think I'll pass," said Daniel.

"Yeah, me too," said Sam. "I've got things to do tonight."

"Okay, that's it!" Cameron exclaimed. He grabbed Sam's and Daniel's arms. "You two are coming with me." He shoved them into the elevator, which had just opened. He stepped in after them, turning around to point a finger at Vala. "You are not invited. We don't need an audience for this." Cam then jabbed the button for Level 25.

"What the hell are you doing?" Daniel asked angrily after the doors closed.

The pilot looked at him. "We are going to talk about what's going on with you two."

"Oh, no, we're not."

"Oh, yes, we are, that is if you and Sam don't want me to call General O'Neill and have a little chat with him about how you two have been acting and what my opinion is on it."

Sam glared at him. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Sam and Daniel shut up.

They all went to Cam's quarters, the pilot figuring that it would be better than someone's lab or office. They'd have complete privacy here.

Cameron stared at his two obviously uncomfortable teammates. "Okay, so talk. I know that you have broken up. I also know that you're both miserable about it. The whole base probably knows that! What I don't know is why you broke things off. It can't be because you don't love each other. The way you feel for each other is about as plain as Rudolph's shiny red nose. And it can't be because the relationship wasn't working out. I've never seen either of you happier than you have been since you got into this relationship. So I want to know why two intelligent people who have been making each other so happy would suddenly end it all. And you're not getting out of here with lame excuses. I want the truth and the whole truth."

Cameron got what he was demanding. It took a while and was about as easy as pulling teeth from a wild horse would be, but he finally got the picture. That picture was making him revise his image of the two scientists. Maybe they weren't as smart as he always thought they were. Oh, they were book smart. They had tons of knowledge and more than generous helpings of brains, but when it came to this, they were apparently both as dumb as dirt.

"So, let me get this straight," the pilot said. "You broke up because you fell in love and are afraid that one of you will die?" He didn't get a response. "Well, that has to be the stupidest reason for breaking up that I have ever heard."

Two pairs of angry blue eyes zeroed in on him.

"I don't expect you to understand, Mitchell," Daniel snapped, "but don't insult us by belittling our feelings."

"I'm not belittling them. God knows that I understand how much it can hurt to lose someone. But to throw away a fantastic relationship just because there's a chance that something _might_ happen to one of you? That I _don't_ understand."

The archeologist got to his feet. "Well, it really doesn't matter whether or not you understand or if you don't agree. This is between me and Sam. It was a mutual agreement that we knew we had to make." He strode to the door. "I'm going back to work."

He left, Sam doing likewise two seconds later. Cameron remained seated, wondering how it would be possible to make two incredibly stubborn people realize that they were making a huge mistake.

* * *

Even though Cameron knew that Daniel and Sam would likely want to string him up from his private parts if they found out, he shared what he'd learned with Teal'c, knowing that the man had a right to know what was going on with his friends and teammates.

Teal'c frowned in thought. "After the death of my wife, I hesitated to allow myself to get close to another woman. That pain was not one that I overcame easily."

"So, you're saying that you agree with what they did?"

"No, Colonel Mitchell. It is only that I understand the reason why Daniel Jackson and Colonel Carter have done this. They have suffered great pain, pain that they believe they must do all in their power never to feel again. There is a saying among the Jaffa. 'A wounded heart may beat so loudly that it deafens its owner to all other things.' When Shan'auc of the Red Hills, a woman I loved with all that I am, was killed by Tanith, my grief knew no bounds. The wound in my heart made my desire for revenge so great that I ignored all reason and prudence. I was deaf to the pleas of others that I cease my quest for vengeance. In the end, I killed Tanith, but the quest nearly cost not only my own life but the lives of my teammates and Jacob Carter." Teal'c looked at Cam. "Unless you have known such pain, you cannot truly understand how it can rule your life."

Cameron sighed. "No, I guess I can't. But they're miserable, Teal'c. I know you see it, too."

"Indeed."

"So, what do we do?"

The door opened. "Well, we could strand them on another planet until they have sex and realize that they can't live without each other," said Val Mal Doran with a smile.

"Dammit, Vala! You were listening in on us!"

"Of course I was. Unfortunately, I didn't find out where you were in time to listen in on your conversation with Daniel and Samantha."

Cameron's eyes narrowed. "How did you get in here? The door was locked."

The woman waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, I got hold of a master key card ages ago." She came into Teal'c's room and shut the door. She plopped down on the bed and crossed her legs, grinning. "So? What about my idea? You have to admit that if they're stranded alone together on some empty planet, sooner or later, they're going to fall right back into each other's arms. It's inevitable."

"Maybe so, but I have serious doubts that Landry would agree to us kidnapping two members of the SGC, carting them through the gate, then leaving them alone somewhere for several days."

"Perhaps it is not necessary for it to be another planet," Teal'c intoned. The others turned to him.

Cam studied the Jaffa's features. "What do you have in mind?"

* * *

"Are you sure this wasn't a case of a bear attack or some other wild animal?" Sam asked into the microphone of her headset.

Cameron momentarily took his attention off the view outside the helicopter windscreen. "Based on the reports, the bodies were ripped to shreds just like the ones in Minnesota."

"But how could an animal infected with one of those interdimensional parasites have gotten here?" Daniel questioned, looking down at the virgin wilderness they were flying over. "We're nowhere near Minnesota."

"That's the real question. We haven't figured out the answer yet."

"This area appears to be quite remote," Vala remarked.

"Yeah, we're a good fifty miles from the nearest road. There is a cabin, though. It belongs to some rich nature-lover who comes out here every now and then to commune with nature. The killings happened not far from there." A moment passed, then Cam pointed. "And there it is."

Beside the cabin was a helicopter pad. Cam set the chopper down. SG-1 and Vala went into the cabin with their bags.

"We got permission to stay here while we conduct our investigation," Cam said. He went into the kitchen and checked the refrigerator, nodding upon seeing that it was full of food. "The fridge is fully stocked. There's no electricity, of course, and no phone lines. I doubt our cells will work either."

Daniel checked his phone. "Nope, no signal."

"There is a gasoline generator for power." Cameron turned and headed for the door. "I'm going to go back up and check the area, see if I can spot anyone. Teal'c? You want to join me?"

The Jaffa inclined his head and went with the pilot. Vala stepped out onto the porch.

Deciding to investigate the cabin further, Daniel and Sam began wandering around. It didn't take long for them to realize something.

"Sam, there's only one bedroom," the archeologist said.

"Where are we all supposed to sleep? On the floor?"

"We didn't pack any sleeping bags or blankets."

They returned to the living room. Daniel looked out the window and noticed that Vala was no longer on the porch.

"Where's Vala?"

The two scientists hurried outside and saw her in the helicopter with Cameron and Teal'c. It lifted into the air.

"What the hell is going on?" Daniel shouted as he and Sam ran for the chopper.

The door of the helicopter opened, and something was tossed out. As their teammates flew away, Daniel and Sam approached the object. It was a rock upon which a note had been attached.

_"There's a microcassette player on the kitchen counter. Listen to the tape,"_ it said.

Wondering what was going on, they went back inside and found the player beside the refrigerator.

"Hey, guys," said Cam's voice on the tape. "By now, I'm sure you've figured out that something is going on. There were no deaths. There is no murderous creature out here. That was a ruse to get you here. You see, we happen to think that you two are making a gigantic mistake, and we want to see it get fixed. And so, for the next five days, this will be your home, just the two of you . . . all alone. So, relax, enjoy the peace and quiet, and spend some time talking. We'll be back Thursday morning to pick you up."

"I am going to kill him," Sam said as she turned off the player.

"Stand in line," Daniel growled. "I can't believe they did this. They didn't have any right to interfere."

"Do you think Landry was involved?"

"Well, they would have had to get leave time for us, so he at least knows that we were going to be gone."

Sam strode away. "Ooh! This makes me so mad!" She pulled the dust cover off the couch and flopped down on it. "So, what are we going to do?"

Daniel sat beside her. "I guess there's nothing we _can_ do except stay and wait for them to come back."

"And plot their murders."

Daniel smiled slightly, the first smile he'd had in weeks. "You can kill Mitchell. I'll take Vala. It'll take both of us to bring down Teal'c."

Sam let out a little laugh.

Daniel became serious. "You know why they did this, don't you?"

"Because they're conniving busybodies who can't keep out of our business?"

"Because they care. They've seen how unhappy we've both been and wanted to do something about it."

"But it's our lives, Daniel, our _personal_ lives. It wasn't impacting missions or our work on base. We've been fine when it comes to duty."

"But we haven't been fine otherwise," Daniel said softly.

Sam stared down at her hands. "We were handling it. We just need more time, that's all."

Daniel nodded, though he had to wonder if that was true. He longed for Sam every day. Every night, he ached to have her in his arms. He was having dreams about her again, the decision of his conscious mind having no control over the desires of his subconscious. Back when he was first fighting his attraction to Sam, such dreams were embarrassing and aggravating. Now, they made him terribly sad.

He loved her so much that, without her, he felt like only half a person. Could he keep living as half a person? Would he ever feel whole again without Sam in every part of his life? But if he welcomed Sam back into that life, he'd be taking the chance of losing her. No, that wasn't entirely true. She could die regardless, and it would devastate him even if they weren't lovers. The difference was that he would live the rest of his life with the regret that he'd thrown away the greatest love he'd ever known and had denied himself the joy of having every second with her that was possible.

Daniel had thought that his feelings for Sam would fade in time, but he wasn't so sure now. If anything, they were getting stronger. Sam wasn't correct when she said this hadn't been affecting them on duty. He didn't know about her, but it wasn't always easy for him to concentrate on work. His mind kept drifting to her.

Sam went to the refrigerator to see what was in it. She didn't know what she was going to do. Spending five days alone in this cabin with Daniel might prove to be too much for her self-control. Even now, she wanted to pull him into her arms and kiss him until they were both suffering from hypoxia. Not a day went by that she didn't miss what they had together. She had thought that her longing and desire for Jack had been powerful, but it had been nothing compared to this. This ache inside her for Daniel was so strong that it physically hurt. Would it ever go away? She was beginning to have doubts.

But how could she ignore the danger inherent in being in a relationship with him, the threat that, at any moment, he could be taken away from her forever? But then, if he were to die tomorrow, it wouldn't make any difference that they were no longer lovers. It would still kill something inside her.

Daniel came into the kitchen.

"Sam, this might not be something you want to hear, but . . . but I think that maybe we've made a mistake. I've been thinking about Sha're and my life with her, and I realized that, regardless of the pain I suffered over losing her, I wouldn't want to go back in time and erase the days we had together, arrange things so that we never met. I cherish every moment I had with her, and I would not give those memories up for anything." Daniel took her hand. "I wouldn't give up the memories I have of being with you for anything either, even if I knew I was going to lose you, too."

Sam turned to Daniel and saw the love in his eyes, the longing, the need.

In that moment, just as it had on that night they first made love, all thinking and reasoning came to an end. A second later, they were in each other's arms, kissing with desperate, needy hunger. Daniel lifted Sam up and carried her straight to the bedroom. Their clothing was removed with such haste that more than one button was lost in the process.

There was no need for foreplay, their bodies demanding the union that they had been denying themselves for these long weeks. They were very quickly launched into a frenzy of lovemaking. In just a few short minutes, they were rising on the tide of their climax. And then it hit them, shuddering through their bodies with almost paralyzing force.

As his climax ended, Daniel collapsed upon Sam, utterly spent. She barely even noticed the weight.

Daniel at last gathered the strength to move off Sam. He pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair.

"God, I love you, Sam. I love you so much. I can't live my life without you. It wouldn't be a life at all."

Sam lifted his head and gazed into his eyes. "I love you, too, Daniel, and I feel the same way. I don't want to be without you either."

They came together in a slow, deep kiss. Daniel then began placing kisses on Sam's neck and shoulders as she caressed his back. A smile came to his lips.

"So, are we going to tell them that it only took a few minutes for us to get back together?"

"They'd probably be disappointed. Cam and Vala are likely anticipating us struggling miserably not to fall back into each other's arms for the next couple of days."

"Lying awake all night as we're forced to share a bed?"

"Uh huh."

"Then I say we definitely tell them. I'm all for killing their glee over the thought of all that sexual tension building and building until it exploded in a conflagration that would burn down this forest."

Sam laughed, her eyes meeting his. "So, is that what would have happened if we'd tried to resist each other?"

Daniel grinned. "Absolutely."

Sam pressed her body closer, curving her hand over his butt and lifting her leg to lie over his. She rocked her pelvis into his. Daniel let out a little gasped and tightened his hold on her.

"Well, I'm all for starting a few bonfires," she murmured huskily before claiming his mouth.

* * *

Daniel and Sam's enforced vacation became five days of glorious lovemaking, long walks in the woods, and evenings cuddling by the fireplace. They enjoyed every minute of it. The lack of outside distractions and interruptions enabled them to explore their feelings for each other to the fullest, and they found that knowing they were in love and having the freedom to express it made what they had even better. The lovemaking was even sweeter, more potent. It made Sam realize that she had never before made love with a man she was truly, utterly in love with. She had not felt this depth of connection to either of her fiancés, not Jonas and not Pete. It scared her a little to recognize how absolute Daniel's place in her soul was. Yet, at the same time, it also gave her incomparable joy. The thought of the years ahead that they'd have together made her so happy she felt like shouting it from a rooftop somewhere.

Sam had decided that she was no longer going to dwell on what might happen, the possibility that Daniel could die. Instead, she was going to fill her mind and heart with all these memories of them together. Then, if, someday, it did happen, she'd have those memories to hold onto, just as Daniel held into the memories he had of Sha're.

The thought of Sha're made a question come to Sam's mind. It was their last night in the cabin, and she was lying in the bed with Daniel, the sensations of their slow, exquisite lovemaking of a few minutes ago still lingering in their bodies.

"Was it like this for you with Sha're?" Sam asked quietly.

Daniel paused before replying. "Yes and no. I loved Sha're very much. Whenever we made love, it was wonderful, better than anything I'd known up until then." He stroked her cheek lovingly. "But this, what I have with you, what I feel every time we make love . . . it is beyond anything I could have even imagined. These feelings would _never_ have gone away, not even if I'd gone off and spent the rest of my life on Atlantis."

"I feel that way, too, Daniel. But I'm not surprised that I didn't realize it before. I have never been in love like this. I'm beginning to wonder if I was ever really in love at all before now."

Daniel took hold of one of her hands in both of his. In the bright moonlight coming in through the window he searched her eyes for a long moment.

"Sam, I know that I'm going to feel like this for the rest of my life. I don't want to spend a day without you. I don't want just a couple nights a week of me going to your place or you coming to mine. I want you with me every night."

Sam had grown still. "Daniel, are you asking us to move in together?"

"No, Sam. I'm . . . I'm asking you to marry me."

Sam let out a sharp gasp, taken totally by surprise.

Daniel continued. "I know that we've been together for only two months, but we have known each other all these years. We already knew so much about each other before we started this relationship, and these weeks we've been together have proven to me that we could have a happy marriage. There is no question of compatibility." He squeezed her hand. "I don't expect an answer right away, Sam. You can take as much time as you need, even if it's a year. I just want you to know that I want you to be my wife. I want to commit the rest of my life to you. I think we—"

"Yes."

Daniel stilled, his mouth open. He blinked. "Did . . . did you just say—"

"Yes," Sam repeated, a smile beaming over her face.

An answering smile grew on Daniel's face. And then he was laughing and kissing her, trying to do both at the same time.

"I can't believe you said yes," he declared a couple of minutes later. "I-I mean I'd hoped you'd say yes eventually, but I was sure you'd need some time to think about it since we've been together for such a short time."

"When Pete asked me to marry him, I couldn't answer him right away even though we'd been dating for nearly a year. All these thoughts about how it would change my life came pouring into my head, and some of them made me wonder if I was ready to make the adjustments and sacrifices I'd need to. I guess that should have clued me into the fact that there was something missing in the way I felt about him. But when _you_ asked me, I didn't think about the things I'd be giving up; I thought about the things I'd be _gaining_. I thought about the way it would change my life for the better." She cupped his cheek. "And that's why I didn't have to think about it. I already know it's what I want." She smiled hugely. "And I want it as fast as we can make it happen."

Daniel gave her another happy grin. "A quick trip to Vegas and a wedding officiated by a guy in an Elvis costume? I bet both Jack and Mitchell would just _love_ that. Of course, we'd never hear the end of it from Jack."

"Not quite," Sam replied. "But I'm thinking that a month would be enough time to plan a very small, simple service, especially since the majority of the people we'd want to be there work at the SGC, which will make it easy to invite them. Everyone else we can just call. No invitations to make and send out."

Daniel searched her face. "Sam, are you sure? I want this wedding to be all that you dreamed your wedding would be."

Sam smiled at him. "I'm sure, Daniel. I went through the nightmare of planning the wedding with Pete, and it was not fun. Some women might enjoy all that stuff, but I found out that I'm not one of them. I kept wanting to just go back to work instead." She looked into his eyes intently. "There is only one thing I need for my wedding, and it's the one thing I know will be there."

"What's that?"

"You, standing there at the altar."

The newly engaged couple came together in a long kiss. Sam then laid her head on Daniel's chest and closed her eyes.

After a moment, he let out a soft chuckle.

She lifted her head to look at him. "What are you laughing about?"

"I was thinking about the look on the faces of Teal'c, Vala and Mitchell when we tell them we're engaged."

* * *

The next morning, Daniel and Sam heard the sound of an approaching helicopter. Their bags were packed and waiting on the porch – _all_ of their bags. It turned out that the bags they'd thought contained Teal'c's, Cameron's and Vala's clothing had actually been more of Sam's and Daniel's. There could be only one explanation for that. Someone had gotten into their lockers, made copies of their house keys, and snuck over to their places. That realization did not please the couple.

There had been another discovery as well, one that resulted in a different emotion: embarrassment. It appeared that Vala had packed certain items that most definitely did not come from either Daniel's place or Sam's.

"Where the hell did she get these things?" Daniel had asked after making the discovery. "We don't let her leave the mountain unattended."

"Online, I'd guess."

Daniel picked up the pair of fur-lined handcuffs with two fingers. "You know, just the thought of her imagining us using any of these things is not very conducive to feelings of passion."

"I know exactly what you mean."

Daniel and Sam were standing before the cabin when the helicopter landed. They picked up all the bags and carried them to the chopper.

"Well?" Cameron inquired over the sound of the rotors, searching their faces.

"Do you want to hear our plans for your murders now or after we get home?" Sam responded.

"That can wait until later," replied Vala. "We want to know if you're back together."

"Well, you'll just have to wait to find out," Daniel told her. "We're not saying another word until we're back home."

"But that's not fair!"

Daniel gave her a glare that actually made her recoil a few inches.

"But perfectly understandable given the situation," she added.

As stated, Daniel and Sam remained silent throughout the trip. Though Teal'c graciously accepted this without comment, Cam and Vala were in agony.

The journey came to an end at Sam's house, the astrophysicist telling the others that she'd give Daniel a ride home. Fortunately, her car didn't have to be picked up from the base. Cam had called her and Daniel at home to tell them about the "mission", explaining that Landry said not to bother coming into the SGC, that they were to pack and go straight to the airport. That should have made her and Daniel suspicious. If it was a real mission, there would have been a briefing of some kind.

"All right, so give," the pilot said. "Are you back together?"

Daniel and Sam looked at each other, turned back to Cam, and simultaneously replied, "Yes."

Cameron grinned. "All right! That is _great_ news. So, how long did it take you guys to finally cave in? Two days? Three?"

Daniel adopted a thoughtful look. "Ummm, actually, around ten minutes, I think."

"Fifteen tops," said Sam.

The three other people gaped at them. Okay, so it was only the two humans who gaped. Teal'c just looked surprised.

"Ten . . . minutes?" Vala finally said.

Daniel nodded. "Uh huh. You see, I was already thinking that we might have made a mistake."

"I was, too," Sam confessed.

"In another week or so, we'd probably have gotten back together on our own."

"You mean to say that I laid out all that money and called in all those favors for nothing?" Cameron whined.

Daniel smiled. "Well, no, not for nothing. We really enjoyed the free vacation. Thanks."

The pilot didn't look like he was all that thrilled about having paid for what ended up being a romantic getaway for Daniel and Sam.

"So, did you use any of the extra things I packed?" Vala asked, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. "I had to order them with next-day delivery to get them on time."

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know," Daniel replied.

"Yes, I would like to know."

"Well, you'll just have to keep wondering, Vala, because that is something we're not going to tell you."

"What extra things?" Cam asked, puzzled.

"I'm sure that Vala will explain." Daniel turned to Sam. "Ready to go?"

Her eyes lit up. "You bet."

"Go? Go where?" Cam asked.

"We've got to go shopping for the ring," Daniel replied.

Vala's eyes grew enormous. "T-t-the ring?"

"Uh huh. Oh, and make sure you don't make any plans for the twenty-fifth of next month."

Sam smiled sweetly. "I'm sure you'll want to attend the wedding."

They turned and walked away from the three people whose mouths were hanging open.

"Don't forget to lock up when you leave!" Sam called over her shoulder.

As they drove off down the street, Daniel and Sam exchanged grins and laughed. Then they faced forward toward the short trip that they were taking now and the life journey together that lay ahead, the journey of two wounded hearts that had at last been made whole.

THE END


End file.
